A Dying Light
by authoressintears
Summary: When Aragorn, now in his thirties and a skilled ranger, and his adoptive brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, go out for a day of hunting and fun, everything goes wrong and Aragorn and Elrohir are captured by men whose sole purpose is to hurt Lord Elrond.
1. Part 1

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own any of Tolkien's characters or any of middle earth. This story is purely fun and any characters not related to Lord of the Rings are my own creation that I may torture or destroy at requests from others. 

**Note:**

This story may be a little violent and abusive so if that stuff bothers you I suggest you don't read this story. Also, the relationship Aragorn has with his father and brothers may not be how you see it so please don't flame with saying that I am wrong. That's your opinion on the matter. That also goes for personalities and descriptions of places, consider it artistic license if that makes you feel better. And any words that look like this:

_//mean that it happened in the past or "are thoughts."//_

This story is going to have bits of another story inside of it so please bear with me on this and just pay attention to the signs. Now… I think that covers everything so let's get on with the story!!!

Part 1

_Can't you see we're coming?  
Close your eyes it's over now  
Can't you hear us coming?  
The fight has only just begun_

_- Creed_

Laughter filled the quiet valley, the sound carried on the light spring breeze that stirred the leaves on the trees. The sun was shining brightly on the small group playing by the river; two of them trying to dunk the other in the shallow water while the other laughed at them from the river bank.

"Get him Elladan… come on Estel!" Elrohir called, egging on first one brother than the other.

Aragorn paused at the sound of his elvish name and Elladan used that to throw the human into the water with a splash. The laughing only got louder however as Aragorn came up spluttering. He glared at his elder brother and brushed the brown locks from his face before pulling Elladan in as well.

Aragorn laughed at his elven brother as Elladan glared at him and crawled over to the bank to sit next to his twin, Elrohir.

"He got you good, Elladan!" Elrohir said, giving his brother a playful shove. Elladan scowled at his twin before getting up and going back over to Aragorn who had just got out of the water.

Aragorn saw his brother coming back over to him and held up his hands in forgiveness.

"_Goheno nin, Elladan_." Aragorn said when his brother got closer to him. "Forgive me, Elladan."

"You still haven't grown up have you, Estel?" Elladan said as he helped his brother to his feet with a laugh. Aragorn was in his thirties already, and still he felt it necessary to taunt his older brothers, a fact that the twins found highly amusing and pleasing. They didn't really want their younger brother to grow up but they weren't about to tell him that.

Aragorn just laughed with Elladan. He knew his brother wasn't actually going to hurt him, but having elves for brothers had taught him that it was always good to tell them you were sorry or they would sneak up on you when were least expecting it. Of course, Elladan probably would anyway but Aragorn didn't think about that at the moment.

"What are you waiting for, Estel?" Elrohir called as he noticed the young man still standing by the river.

Aragorn turned around and smiled at his brother before joining the twins under the tree in the shade. One of the servants had packed them a lunch of dried venison and each of them had their own water skins.

"One of these days, brother, I'm going to figure out how you always manage to get the best of Elladan." Elrohir said as they began eating.

Elladan gave his twin a playful shove. "I seem to remember Estel pushing you in the river just last week, El."

Elrohir feigned surprise and looked at his Elladan. "Me? I have no idea what you're talking about!" Elladan snorted but didn't say anything as he grabbed another piece of venison.

Aragorn laughed at them, but didn't say anything for fear of ending up in the river again. His clothes were only now just drying and he didn't feel like getting them wet again.

The sun was still high in the sky when the trio finished eating and the sun beat heavily on them.

Aragorn got up and began unfastening his tunic and slipping off his boots until he was standing in only his breaches, much to the elves' amusement.

"What are you doing, Estel?" Elrohir asked as Aragorn walked towards the water.

"I'm going in the water." Aragorn said, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm hot and unlike you prissy elves I feel like cooling off." The twins just laughed and followed their brother's example, jumping into the shallow pool with a laugh.

The trio splashed around in the water for over an hour. At one point Elladan and Elrohir ganged up on Aragorn to dunk to him under the water only to be dunked themselves when Aragorn pulled their feet out from underneath them.

"Someday I am going to figure out how you do that." Elrohir muttered with a scowl. Aragorn laughed as the twins shook water out of their hair and headed back to the shore.

"Hey!" Aragorn called following them over to the bank. "Where are you going?"

"We've had enough of you getting the best of us for today, _muindor- nìn_." Elladan said with a laugh.

"We're going to come up with a plan to get you back, just you wait!" Elrohir called back with a laugh.

Aragorn didn't doubt that so he quickly climbed out of the water and joined his brothers under the tree before they could make any plans about him.

The sun was slowly sinking behind the mountains on their right, casting long shadows through the forest around them.

Elladan looked up as he finished getting on his tunic and boots and watched the sun setting behind the mountains. "We should start heading back or Ada will begin to worry."

Elrohir nodded and began packing up the remains of their lunch as Aragorn finished getting dressed. The young man grabbed his weapons from the base of the tree and hurried to catch up to the two elves who were already heading into the forest back to Rivendell.

The sound of the twins laughter floated back to the ranger as he finally caught up to the twins. He was sure they were talking about a way to get him back for his earlier antics, but it didn't bother him at the moment as the elves laughter was infectious.

The twins turned around at the sound of their brother's laughter and stopped so the human could catch up.

"May I ask what is so funny?" Aragorn asked as the elves laughter didn't subside. He tried to act serious, but that only managed to make the elves laugh even harder until they were practically rolling on the ground in mirth.

Aragorn had no idea what was so funny and just stood there glaring at his brothers until their laughter subsided and they were able to stand up again.

Unfortunately they took one look at Aragorn's face and began laughing again. Aragorn still didn't see what was so funny so he pulled out his sword to try and look at his reflection in it.

Aragorn had to do a double take as he saw what looked like a very dead fish sitting on top of his head. He gingerly reached up and felt the top of his head only to recoil and brush the thing off.

His brothers of course continued laughing at him as he looked down at the dead fish lying on the forest floor. Aragorn just glared at them.

"You knew that was on top of my head all this time, didn't you!" Aragorn accused as the elves stopped laughing and wiped their eyes.

Elladan and Elrohir just looked at each other in mock surprise. "Us? We knew no such thing!" They pretended to look indignant at the very idea but Aragorn was not fooled.

"I'm going to get you back for that!" he said jestingly giving his brothers a playful shove.

"You can try _muindor- nìn_." Elladan said with a mischievous smile.

"But first you have to catch us!" Elrohir finished for his twin as the duo bounded away into the dark of the forest.

Aragorn laughed and ran after his brothers, making sure to keep their faint elven glow visible at all times.

Suddenly the twins stopped and went into a defensive crouch. Aragorn followed suit and crouched down next to them.

"What is it?" he asked quietly in elvish, drawing his sword and scanning the forest.

"The woods are too quiet." Elladan said in a whisper, notching an arrow in his bow.

"Someone or something approaches." Elrohir added, barely loud enough for the human to hear. But Aragorn figured that out for himself as he heard the faint rustling of something moving across the forest floor. Actually it sounded like more than one something but he didn't argue the point.

Elladan quickly took charge and motioned for Elrohir to circle to the left and Aragorn to circle to the right as he took to the trees. The others nodded and moved off in their separate directions, keeping their weapons out and ready in case of an attack.

Aragorn crept around to where the rustling was coming from, making sure not to make any noise that would alert anyone to his position. He peaked through the weeds close to where the rustling was coming from and scowled as he saw what appeared to be a group of hunters slinking through the underbrush.

He didn't step out of the weeds yet though, still not sure what the group wanted or if they even were hunters. So he contented himself with simply watching and listening to the group, but they weren't giving anything away.

Finally Aragorn decided that he wasn't going to gain anything by crouching there and began to slink around to meet his brothers when he heard a twig snap behind him. He spun around silently with his sword drawn only to come face to face with Elrohir who motioned for the young man to follow him. Elladan soon joined them, jumping lightly out of a nearby tree.

"What did you two find out?" he asked quietly in elvish. They were less likely to be overheard, and most people assumed there were elves around when they heard someone speaking elvish and avoided them altogether.

Aragorn shrugged. "Not much. It looks like a group of hunters, but I couldn't hear what they were saying and I'm wondering why they haven't made camp yet."

Elrohir looked at Elladan. "I noticed the same. And even with my elven hearing I couldn't catch anything they were saying. But my senses are telling me that they are up to no good."

Elladan nodded in agreement. "Then let's avoid them and any conflict and make haste for Rivendell before Ada sends a scouting party after us."

The others agreed and the trio began making their way around the hunting party and back towards Rivendell, making sure to keep their weapons drawn and their senses alert. The forest was still too quiet and it worried the elves and Aragorn.

Suddenly, from out of the darkness, flaming arrows fell all around them, making the trio scatter to avoid being hit by the flaming barrage.

"Head for Imladris!" Elladan called out in elvish. Aragorn nodded at his brother and followed the twins away from the arrows towards Rivendell where the trio knew they would be safe from pursuers.

They had no idea what they were up against, and with night already well upon them they didn't want to risk getting separated by their attackers. But Rivendell was still a ways away, and trying to stay quiet while listening to see if they were being followed was hard to do.

But the trio knew they were being followed. They could hear the sounds of their pursuers behind them stumbling through the undergrowth and they quickly picked up their pace, still staying as quiet as possible.

Movement to Aragorn's right was all the warning he had before someone jumped out of the undergrowth and tackled him to the ground. The twins turned around at the sound of a scuffle but were soon engaged in their battles as more and more attackers appeared from the shadows.

Aragorn rolled over and got his knees under his attacker and kicked him off over his head before scrambling for his sword that had been knocked from his hand at the initial attack.

He quickly got into a defensive position as his attacker rounded on him with his own sword. Aragorn quickly blocked the blow and glanced over at his brothers, who had dropped their bows for their knives, and was glad to see that they were holding their own against their attackers. But the trio was greatly out numbered.

Aragorn quickly turned back to the man he was fighting just in time to block another blow. The man's sword glanced off Aragorn's, but the man wasn't daunted. He quickly tried a new attack and feigned a blow to the right only to come back to the left. Aragorn noticed the move a little too late and moved so the sword only cut his upper arm, but the cut was still deep.

Aragorn hissed in pain and stumbled away from his attacker, holding his arm where blood was seeping through his fingers. That was all his attacker needed to gain the upper hand. He quickly got around behind Aragorn and hit him with the pommel of his sword at the base of the skull.

Aragorn reeled from the hit, stunned and dazed so he didn't notice when another man appeared and out of the shadows and hit him in the face at the same time that his original attacker hit the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel while his nose and mouth were bleeding from the hit to his face.

Quickly, another man tried to place a drug soaked cloth over his face, but Aragorn still had some fight left in him and he quickly kicked out at the man behind him. He was still dazed from the hits he had taken but he quickly swung out with his sword, cutting the man nearest to him.

A blow to the temple quickly brought Aragorn back down to his knees, yellow spots wavering in front of his vision. This time the men had no trouble getting the cloth over his face. Aragorn struggled for only a moment before consciousness fled him and he slumped to the forest floor.

Elladan saw the ranger fall and waited for him to get up, but the ranger didn't move. "Estel!"

Elrohir also noticed the ranger and the two elves attacked with a new ferociousness to try and get to their brother. But they were outnumbered and the attack just kept coming without end. They saw one of the men grab Aragorn and drag him away from the fight, but there was nothing they could do from where they were.

The elves were beginning to tire from fighting three foes at once, and they were taking repeated blows to the head from behind. Finally, Elrohir took one hit too many and collapsed just behind Elladan.

"Elrohir!" Elladan tried to get to his twin but his path was blocked by even more attackers and all he could do was watch as the men put one of those cloths over his brother's face and dragged him away too.

Then, as suddenly as it began, the attackers fled the clearing. Elladan slumped to the ground in exhaustion, letting his knives fall from his hands. He had taken one too many hits but the adrenaline in his system had kept him going. Of course, now that the adrenaline was wearing off the hits were taking their toll on the elf's body.

"Estel… Elrohir…" Elladan managed to gasp out before he slipped slowly into unconsciousness and fell to the forest floor.


	2. Part 2

Part 2

_I'll never let you down,  
Even if I could,  
Give up everything,  
If only for your good._

_-Three Doors Down_

Elrond stared out into the darkened forest around Rivendell, a gentle night time breeze whipped around him as he stood out on the balcony. His sons were late. Very late. They were supposed to back over an hour ago, but Elrond wasn't that worried. His sons were very capable hunters, trackers, healers, warriors, or whatever the situation called for.

"My Lord?" Elrond turned towards the servant that had appeared behind him in the room.

"Yes?" Elrond asked with a small smile. The servant looked nervous being around the elf lord and Elrond hoped to ease the tension in the young elf.

"I was sent to tell you dinner is ready sir." The elf still fidgeted under the elf lord's gaze, but Elrond could tell his heart was lighter because of the smile he had given him.

"Thank you." Elrond said going over to the elf. "Tell them I will be right down." He gave the elf another smile and patted him on the shoulder before going back over to the edge of the balcony and looking back into the darkness.

Elrond heard the servant quietly leave the room and chuckled softly. If the twins had been here they would have said something to their father about the servant's reaction to the elf lord, and it probably would have made fun of him.

"Where are you my sons?" Elrond whispered softly. He took one last look at the forest around him before going back into the house.

XXXXX

Elladan moaned softly as consciousness slowly returned to him. He felt like someone had used him for a punching bag, and his head was throbbing painfully.

He pushed himself slowly into a sitting position, but even the slight movement of doing that made his head reel and his vision blur for a couple of seconds. He crawled over to a nearby tree and leaned slowly against its trunk. The sun was just beginning to rise over the trees, making Elladan wonder how long he had really been out.

_//"Father's going to be worried sick about us."//_ Elladan thought with a slight chuckle. Suddenly he realized that Elrohir and Aragorn weren't with him. He looked around the clearing for his brothers, hoping that they were either unconscious or leaning against another tree.

Elladan began to panic. He couldn't see his brothers anywhere, and then the memories of the skirmish the night before came flooding back to him. Aragorn being drugged and taken away… Elrohir falling to the ground and being dragged away… him collapsing after their attackers suddenly disappeared…

"Oh no!" he moaned as realization hit him. His brothers had been captured by those men, and he had been unconscious for hours… maybe even days! Who knew how far the men had gone already or if Aragorn and Elrohir were even still alive?

_//"Don't think like that!"//_ he scolded. _//"If I had been out for days someone would have found me… and I would know if they were dead."// _But at the same time Elladan knew that he was running out of time and he wasn't in any shape to try and help his brothers. His only hope lay in getting back to Rivendell quickly so Elrond could see to his injuries and he could muster up a search party.

Elladan had just come to that conclusion when his sharp elven hearing picked up the faint sounds of something approaching. He tried to stand up, but the movement only caused his head to reel again and yellow spots to dance before his eyes.

_//"I must have a concussion."//_ Elladan thought to himself as he fell back against the tree, half standing and half sitting. He continued to ease himself up the tree slowly until he was standing up and then moved behind the tree so he could see who or what was approaching.

Elladan waited patiently, making sure that he had his bow ready in case of attack. His vision swam from staying tense so long, but his vigil was soon rewarded as a group of hunters passed in front of his hiding place. His heart beat faster as he watched them for a moment before quietly moving out of his hiding place and grabbing one of the hunters at the back of the pack. He held his knife against the man's throat and pinned his arms to his side.

The man tensed under Elladan's touch but didn't resist the elf. "Who are you and what do you want here?" he hissed in the man's ear. The rest of the group had turned around by now and were eyeing the elf warily.

"Elladan?" An elf stepped out from the back of the group and Elladan eased up his grip slightly.

"Ada?" A confused look passed across Elladan's face as his father came forward. Maybe he had been out longer than he thought if Elrond was here. The elf lord did not usually leave Imladris if he could help it, preferring instead to send another in his stead.

He let go of the man he held and looked at his father for a moment as the adrenaline wore off. But as it did his injuries began to take their toll on his body and his vision swam from the concussion he had.

Elrond noticed his son sway for a moment and ran forward to catch him before he hit the ground. Elrond looked at his son for a moment trying to keep him conscious.

"Ada… Estel and Elrohir…" Elrond shushed his son and motioned for to some men who were carrying a portable stretcher. They unfolded the stretcher and gently moved Elladan onto it just as consciousness left him yet again.

Elrond sighed as he looked down at his eldest son, but what really worried him was the fact that Aragorn and Elrohir were no where to be found.

He looked back down at Elladan as the men picked him up and prepared to carry him back to Rivendell when something caught his eye. A piece of paper was stuck under the edge of his jacket. Elrond gently pulled it out and tucked it into a pocket before following the men back to Rivendell to see to his son's injuries. He only hoped that when Elladan regained consciousness he would be able to tell him what had happened.

XXXXX

Elrohir moaned softly as he slowly regained consciousness. His head throbbed painfully and he tried to move his hands to check for any cuts, but his hands were tied roughly behind his back.

He woke up with a jolt as this realization hit him. Memories of the previous night flooded back to him and he looked around for Aragorn and Elladan. He saw Aragorn still unconscious a couple of feet away, but there was no sign of Elladan.

"Finally awake, huh? I thought elves healed faster than that. You've been out for 3 days. Guess that drug was stronger than it needed to be." Elrohir looked up at the man that stood over him. He was a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair. He grinned evilly down at the bound elf and gave him a little kick before going over to an older man who was sitting in front of the fire. He whispered something in the man's ear and followed him back over to where Elrohir was still lying.

The older man was obviously the leader by the way the other man followed him. He knelt down in front of Elrohir and grabbed his chin, tipping his face up towards him. He brushed back the hair that covered Elrohir's ear and looked at it before Elrohir managed to wiggle out of his grasp.

The man gave a small smile at the defiance in the elf's eyes and got up to go look at the other captive. He hadn't woken up yet, which was odd enough for an elf, but the older man was also suspicious because he didn't look like an elf. Not that he had had any dealings with elves before he took this job, but the two captives still looked very different.

Elrohir watched as the man knelt in front of the unconscious form of his brother and struggled to help him. But it was no use, the bonds were simply to tight and sturdy.

Suddenly the man got up in disgust and turned on the man who had kicked Elrohir when he had first woken up. They walked away from the captives but Elrohir could still hear what they said.

"Who is that, Dolar?" the leader asked the middle-aged man while pointing at Aragorn. Elrohir guessed that they had figured out that Aragorn was no elf.

Dolar fidgeted. "I don't know, Manet. He was with the other two just like you said they would… and it was dark so we couldn't really see who we grabbed. We just assumed since he was with the elves that he was an elf. And you're the one who said only grab two!"

Manet grabbed Dolar and looked him straight in the eye before continuing. "I told you that the elves we were after were identical! Do those two look identical to you?!"

Dolar cast a look over at the two captives and slowly shook his head. Manet let him go and scowled. Rubbed his temples and thought about it for a minute. "I don't know what we're going to do with the human. When he wakes up let me know so we can figure out if we can use him or not. If he was traveling with the elves it more than likely that we can use him but I want to make sure. Either way the boss is not going to be happy about this and he's going to blame me!" With that he gave Dolar another shove for good measure and headed back over to the fire.

Elrohir sighed and rested back on the ground. The situation was not good, and he still didn't know what these people wanted with him and his brother. Although it was obvious that they wanted Elladan instead of Aragorn which meant that they didn't know about the human and his connection with the elves.

"Ilúvatar protect him against these men." Elrohir whispered to himself in Elvish before he turned away from the fire and unconsciousness claimed him once more.

XXXXX

Elladan slowly began regaining consciousness. The first thing that he noticed, even before he opened his eyes, was that someone was near him. He tensed slightly, still not fully awake, and grabbed at the being that stood over him.

"Shhh… calm down _ion-nin_." Elrond said softly in elvish, he relaxed under his sons grip and stared into his sleep filled eyes. He knew his son wasn't awake yet.

"A-Ada?" Elladan blinked quickly to clear his vision and let go of his father. His head throbbed dully and he wondered vaguely why when he suddenly remembered Aragorn and Elrohir. "We have to go after them!" He sat up quickly and it was all Elrond could do to restrain him from jumping out of bed.

"Who?" Elrond was still trying to keep his son from injuring himself further and wasn't really paying attention.

"Estel and Elrohir! They were captured in the forest!" Elladan was still trying to get past his father, but his injuries were catching up to him quickly.

"You are not going anywhere." Elrond said when his son stopped resisting.

"But you don't understand! Estel and Elrohir are out there and they were injured! We have to save them!" Elrond got up quickly and closed the door to Elladan's room before going back over and sitting on the edge of his son's bed.

"You are not going anywhere, Elladan." Elladan looked at his father in confusion. He was the only one who knew where his brothers had been taken, he was the only one who saw the attackers, and he was probably the only one who would be able to track them. Why didn't his father see that?

"I have to! They're my brothers and by the Valar I'm not going to see them suffer!" Elrond simply sighed at his eldest son's outburst and shushed him.

"I know Elladan. Believe me, I know. I've seen what men can do but you were hurt as well. If you want to be any help to your brothers you have to heal." Elladan simply nodded at his father's words. He knew he was right, but it still pained him to be so helpless to help his brothers.

"I'm sorry, Ada. I know you're only thinking about my well being, but we should at least send out a search party to start looking for them. Maybe the rangers can help." Elrond smiled at his eldest son and nodded.

"I have already sent some men from the village out looking and I will send someone else to ask for the rangers' assistance." Elladan just sighed contentedly. He should have known that his father would already have taken action. He looked at his father again with a smile and a nod. Elrond continued. "Now you need to rest up. I don't need you getting worse. You can help with the search in a couple of days when you are better."

Elladan nodded but he still looked at his father. Something was troubling him. "How did you know about Elrohir and Estel? I don't remember saying that they were taken by men." Elrond sighed and pulled something out of his robe. Elladan sat up to look at what his father had, but it was only a piece of paper.

Elladan was puzzled and Elrond could see that on his son's face. He sighed. "I found this on you when we first found you."

"What is it? What does it say?" Elladan was slowly understanding what his father was telling him.

Elrond held out the piece of paper for Elladan to look at, but Elladan was still puzzled. The only thing on the piece of paper was what looked like an elvish symbol, but Elladan had never seen one like it. Elladan looked at his father as he handed back the piece of paper.

"That is the symbol of a man I thought was dead." Elrond said as he placed the piece of paper back in his robes. "I never told you this story. It happened a long time ago just before Aragorn came to live with us. You and Elrohir were visiting Arwen in Lothlorièn at the time and were going to bring her back for a visit. I decided to go hunting to keep myself occupied when I was attacked by a band of thieves…

XXXXX

Elrond sighed. The day was so peaceful and warm, and the forest was quiet and calming. A cool breeze ruffled his hair as he came to a clearing.

Suddenly the forest went silent. Elrond tensed and drew his bow, looking around for the cause of the change. His instincts were telling him something was wrong, but he couldn't hear anything.

Suddenly, about 30 roughly dressed men each armed heavily, rushed out of the forest and surrounded the elf, as if waiting for some kind of signal to attack. Elrond knew he stood very little chance of winning this attack, but he still stood waiting. He was surrounded and there was nothing else he could do.

Suddenly the men attacked. All 30 of them attacked at once and Elrond was hard pressed to fight them all off. He fought as hard as he could. Taking hits and downing opponents until it became clear that they did not want to kill the elf. They wanted to capture him.

Elrond fought harder as this realization hit him. He was getting desperate as he kept taking hits from behind and more people kept appearing.

Suddenly he was hit in the back of the head and fell to his knees, yellow spots flashing in front of his eyes. Someone grabbed his arms while another placed a drugged cloth over his face. Elrond struggled for a minute before he slipped into unconsciousness.

When he finally awoke he realized with a jolt that his hands were tied behind his back. He groaned. This was not good.

"So… you're finally awake, huh?" Elrond looked up at the man that stood over him. He must have been in his thirties but the look the man gave him was like someone sizing up a horse or a piece of meat. It was really unsettling.

"What do you want with me?" Elrond asked; a hint of malice behind his eyes. The man knelt down in front of Elrond and stared at him a moment before continuing.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" It was more a statement than a question and Elrond didn't answer. "My name is Brelen and, unfortunately for you, I happen to be a slaver. Elves are very valuable commodities you know. Probably because it's nearly impossible to capture and train one. But I have succeeded and you are going to make me very, very rich."

Elrond still didn't say anything, but if looks could kill than Brelen would have been dead long ago. The look on the elf lord, though, only seemed to make Brelen smile. He slapped Elrond across the face, splitting his lip, and stood up.

"Remember this, elf." He rolled up his sleeve an showed Elrond a tattoo on his upper arm. It was a symbol of some kind, of that Elrond was certain, but what it meant he did not know.

"That's my mark. I won't tell you what it means, but you better get used to seeing it because you're mine now." He laughed at the elf lord before going over to sit around the fire with his men.

Elrond leaned back against the tree he was tied to and sighed. This was not going well, and the fact that he hadn't told anyone where he was going when he left that morning boded ill for him. No one would know where to look or would even start looking for a couple of days at least. All he could do was wait and bide his time.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next morning found Elrond still awake and staring up at the sky thinking about his sons. He hoped he could make it out of the situation to see them again, but it wasn't looking good at the moment.

His thoughts were interrupted when Brelen gave him a swift kick in stomach. Elrond doubled over, gasping for breath, before he was untied from the tree and pulled to his feet.

"We're moving out today. We have to make to Rohan within the week if we want to get rid of this slave." He pushed Elrond in front of him as he said this and the elf lord stumbled slightly before regaining his balance.

Elrond glared back at the human before he was grabbed by another man and his hands were retied in front of him. He was tied to Brelen's saddle and made to walk behind the horses.

They walked all day with no breaks. Elrond wasn't affected at all by the pace, but he was still thirsty when they finally stopped for the night. Unfortunately, Brelen seemed to think his slave didn't need any food or water and left him tied to a tree all night again.

The next morning however was a different story. "Gavin! Make sure the slave has some water before we head out. We don't need him injured before we sell him."

A young boy of about 5 that Elrond had not noticed earlier nodded and went to go get some water.

"Daddy said to give you some water." Gavin said when he got over to Elrond. Elrond smiled at the boy and drank as much water as he could without the use of his hands.

"So you're Brelen's son?" Elrond asked kindly. The boy nodded shyly and walked away as the sound of his father voice reached them. Elrond watched the boy go with a longing to see his own sons.

Suddenly Brelen's face appeared in front of his. Brelen glared at Elrond before slapping him across the face and reopening his split lip.

"Don't talk to my son." Brelen said giving him another slap. He motioned to another man to tie him back to the horse and they set out once again.

It was mid-day when they reached a cliff ledge and had to go single file. They walked for a while before Elrond found the chance he needed to escape…

XXXXX

"Brelen was tired from guard duty the night before and he wasn't paying attention. So I took my chance and grabbed his knife. I cut my bonds and his horse spooked and went over the cliff." Elrond said with a sigh. He closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. "Gavin watched his father go over that cliff and the look he gave me as I fled into the woods was one of pure hatred. I had heard that he had taken after his father and had grown rich, but I never thought he would remember me. Obviously I was wrong."

Elladan looked at his father and smiled. "It's not your fault, Ada. And don't worry, we'll get them back." Elrond sighed and kissed his son on the forehead before going over and stoking the fire.

Elladan sighed but leaned back against the pillows. Even though his father had told him a lot he really was tired. Oh so tired. He felt his father sit down on the end of the bed again before sleep claimed him once more.

Elrond looked fondly down at Elladan as his eldest son slowly drifted off to sleep. He knew his son would not stay asleep for long, and he also knew that when he woke up he would ignore his father's wishes and set out after Estel and Elrohir, even though he knew that it was better to rest.

He got up off the edge of the bed and moved across the room to stoke the fire before settling himself down in the big armchair that stood in the corner of the room. He moved it over in front of the door so Elladan couldn't escape and settled down for the night.

"Ilúvatar keep them safe." Elrond whispered to himself before sleep finally claimed him as well.


	3. Part 3

Part 3

_There's another world inside of me that you may never see,  
There's secrets in this life I can't hide.  
Well, somewhere in this darkness,_

_there's a light that I can't find  
Well, maybe its to far away, maybe I'm just blind  
Maybe I'm just blind.  
_

_-Three Doors Down_

Elrohir groaned as he slowly regained consciousness yet again and tried to sit up with his hands tied behind his back, but it was harder than he thought so he stayed on his side.

He looked over at Aragorn and was glad to see that the ranger was conscious as well. He scooted over to Aragorn and used the ranger as leverage to get into a sitting position. Aragorn was already sitting and he chuckled at the elf's struggle.

"Glad to see you're finally awake, Elrohir." Aragorn said quietly in elvish. In truth he had only been awake for about ten minutes, but he had quickly guessed their predicament and decided that elvish was probably better so that their captors couldn't understand them.

"Me? I woke up last night and had the pleasure of being introduced to our captors." Aragorn raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything as Dolar and Manet cam over to them.

"So… I see you're both awake now." Manet said with a smile. Elrohir didn't like the look on Dolar's face either, but wisely said nothing. Manet didn't seem to expect an answer though and motioned to Dolar who grabbed Aragorn and hauled him to his feet.

Elrohir struggled to follow but Manet held him down as Dolar tied Aragorn's hands above him to a tree branch. Elrohir didn't like the look of the situation at all. He remembered the men's conversation the night before and became even more worried.

"Let him go." Elrohir said dangerously, the hatred showing clearly in his eyes.

Manet laughed at the elf and looked him in the eye. "Why is this human so important to you?" Elrohir didn't answer and Manet shrugged.

"If he's no use to you than maybe we should just put him out of his misery…" he motioned to Dolar who quickly held a knife up to Aragorn's throat.

"No!" Elrohir struggled against his bonds and Manet motioned for Dolar to stop. Dolar pulled the knife away and Elrohir could see a faint line of blood on his brother's neck.

Aragorn struggled to get out of his bonds, but his were tied even tighter than Elrohir's and his struggling only made his captors laugh at him. They hit and punched him to make him stop struggling, or because they enjoyed it. Elrohir couldn't tell but suspected it was probably both. Either way, it was all Aragorn could do to stay conscious.

"_Daro!_ Stop!" Elrohir pulled against his captors even harder and it was all Manet could do to restrain the elf.

"Dolar! Would you stop already?! We don't need this one injured as well!" Dolar stopped abusing Aragorn and the rest of the men followed him, but reluctantly.

Elrohir looked at his brother and had to hold back a torrent of insults as he saw Aragorn's condition. His lip was bleeding and he was gasping for breath. Bruises were already beginning to appear on his body and he looked ready to pass out from the abuse.

Manet looked between the elf and the man. He needed a way to turn this situation to his advantage, and he had an idea about how to do it.

"So you won't tell us why this human is so important to you?" Manet asked calmly. Elrohir remained silent and dropped his gaze from Aragorn back to Manet.

Manet held up his hands in defense against the elf's glare. "Don't blame me for this. But if you won't tell us than we'll just have to see if the human will." He walked over to Aragorn and grabbed the human's head, forcing him to look him in the eye.

"Do you feel like being cooperative?" Manet asked, his patience growing thin. Aragorn didn't answer, his head was throbbing again and he felt his consciousness slipping away.

"No, huh?" Manet shoved the man away in frustration he was getting no where. He knew the elf cared for the human, but he still didn't know why. "Then I guess we'll just have to make you talk."

"No!" Elrohir cried as Manet motioned for Dolar to tie him back to the tree. He struggled against the man's grip, but without his hands it didn't do much good. Dolar slapped him for good measure before going over to where Manet was having Aragorn stripped down to the waist.

Elrohir was still struggling as Manet pulled out a leather whip. Aragorn was still in pain from his previous abuse and hadn't seen the whip yet. But he still tensed, sensing his brother's anxiety. Besides the fact that it couldn't be a good thing that they stripped him.

Manet let the whip slide along Aragorn's back, watching as Aragorn shuddered under the touch. He let it drop before bringing it up and down hard on Aragorn's back. A small red welt appeared across his shoulder blades and Aragorn had to bite his lip to keep from crying out.

"Now. One of you is going to tell me what I want to know or we are going to keep playing this game until you are both passed out." Manet said bringing the whip down on Aragorn's back again.

Elrohir continued to struggle against his bonds as he watched his brother being whipped. Suddenly a small sob escaped Aragorn's lips as the pain got worse. Welts overlapping welts until his entire back was a bloody mess.

"Stop, just stop." Elrohir said quietly, tears coming to his eyes as he watched his younger brother shake with silent sobs.

Manet turned to face the elf behind him with a smile. "What was that? I don't think I heard you correctly."

"I said stop." Elrohir said angrily. He didn't want them to know about Aragorn, but it wasn't worth his brother's pain.

"That's what I thought you said. Does that mean that you're ready to tell me what I want to know?" he knelt down in front of the elf and his smile got even wider as Elrohir nodded slowly, dropping his gaze in defeat.

Manet waited for the elf to continue. Elrohir was watching Aragorn, trying to apologize to him mentally. Aragorn didn't even look up as consciousness finally fled. Elrohir sighed. "He's my brother."

XXXXX

Elladan groaned softly as he regained consciousness. It was still dark outside, but the fire had died down in the grate. He quietly slipped out of bed, looking around to make sure Elrond was no where in sight, and stopped when he saw the chair in front of the door.

Elrond was fast asleep, leaning against the door so that his eldest son couldn't leave. Elladan had to smile at the sight, but that didn't help him with the problem of getting out. There was no way he was going to be able to move the elf lord enough so he could squeeze out the door and there was no way to get out the window safely, even if he was in good health.

Elrond sensed his son's movements and quietly watched Elladan move around the room. He didn't want Elladan to know he was awake yet, so he contented himself with simply watching quietly.

Finally Elrond could contain his laughter over his son's predicament no longer and he let out a soft chuckle. Elladan spun around quickly to face his father who got up out of the chair.

"What are you doing, Elladan?" he asked innocently. Elladan shifted guiltily from one foot to the other and didn't say anything, but Elrond already knew what his son was up to.

He walked over to Elladan and steered him back into his bed. It was still dark outside and Elrond knew his son needed his rest, even if he didn't think he did.

"Ada…" Elrond held his hand up for silence as Elladan started to speak. He tucked his son in and let him get comfortable before starting.

"I know you want to go after your brothers, _ion-nin. _But you are not well enough yet and you can't do anything in the dark. Besides, it's me they want. Not you or your brothers. If anyone is going to go it's going to be me." Elrond said this last part in barely a whisper and Elladan shook his head and grabbed Elrond's hands.

"You don't have to do this alone, Ada." he said gently. He could feel the older elf's hurt and knew his father blamed himself for Estel and Elrohir's capture.

Elrond looked up into his son's eyes and for a second Elrohir could see all the hurt this was causing his father before Elrond looked away again. "I won't see you hurt as well Elladan."

And with that Elrond walked back over to his chair in front of the door and fell back asleep. Elladan watched his father for a moment, his words echoing in his mind.

"I won't see you do this alone." Elladan said to himself before sleep finally claimed him once more.

XXXXX

"What are you talking about?" Manet asked suspiciously. He definitely didn't hear the elf right. There was no way the human could be the elf's brother! For one thing they were two different races, and for another it was impossible.

Elrohir took a deep breath. "You asked me why he is so important to me and I told you. He's my brother."

Manet shook his head. He didn't know whether the elf was lying or not, but he had always considered himself a fairly good judge of character and the elf seemed to be telling the truth. The question still remained though that if the elf was telling the truth, how could he use this to his advantage.

Manet looked back down at Elrohir who had dropped his head in defeat.

_//"The elf definitely isn't lying. Maybe I can still use the ranger."//_ Manet mused as he turned back to Aragorn.

"Dolar! Cut him down and tie him next to the elf." Dolar nodded and cut down Aragorn. Elrohir picked his head and flinched as the unconscious form of Aragorn fell to the ground. Dolar dragged him over and tied him next to Elrohir who had to turn away for a moment because Aragorn was so bad.

"Let me at least clean his wounds!" Elrohir said as Manet started walking away. Manet turned back to look at Elrohir and thought about it for a moment.

"Fine. Dolar untie them but make sure they don't try to escape." Dolar nodded and untied them. Elrohir rubbed his sore wrists.

"I need water and my pack." Elrohir said as he eased Aragorn down onto his stomach.

"You can have water, but why should I give you your pack?" Elrohir glared at Manet over Aragorn.

"Because if you don't his wounds will get infected and he will die." Manet glared at the elf for a moment but finally nodded.

"Okay, but don't try anything funny." Manet nodded to Dolar who threw Elrohir's pack at him and passed him a thing of water and a cloth.

Elrohir worked over the unconscious form of his brother, washing all of his wounds and bandaging them up. He looked at his brother's arm and winced as he saw a deep cut that he realized must have happened in the skirmish the night before. The edges of the cut were inflamed from being open so long and Elrohir spent a lot of time on that cut, but finally he got it cleaned out enough and got it bandaged up.

Manet watched the elf work for a moment, making sure that he didn't do anything to try and escape. But Elrohir stayed quiet and worked over the ranger.

"You really do care about this ranger, don't you?" Manet asked after watching Elrohir for a while.

Elrohir merely nodded without stopping his work on Aragorn. His brother still wasn't conscious and it worried him, but there wasn't much he could do about it and it kept Aragorn from flinching while he cleaned his wounds.

Finally Elrohir finished cleaning all of Aragorn's cuts and bruises and moved on to looking for any broken bones or head injuries.

Elrohir swore under his breath as he found a cut at the base of his skull. He bound that up and then checked to make sure he didn't have any broken ribs; which, luckily, he didn't.

"Alright men, let's move out!" Elrohir looked up as Manet dragged him to his feet and rebound his hands. He struggled to get back to Aragorn as Dolar bound his hands and threw him over the back of a horse.

"What are you doing?" Elrohir cried as he continued to struggle against Manet. Several other men had to help subdue the elf but finally they got Elrohir restrained.

"Knock him out. He'll be easier to manage that way." One of the men nodded and got another drugged cloth over his face. Elrohir struggled for a moment before consciousness fled and he was thrown into darkness once more.

XXXXX

Elrond woke up early and looked over Elladan's bed. His son was still fast asleep and breathing heavily. Elrond sighed, it was probably a good thing his son was still asleep or he would want to come with him. But Elrond knew Elladan was in no shape to travel and he couldn't risk him getting hurt again.

Quietly, he got up out of his chair and moved slowly out the door. There were still some things he needed to pack and he had to get a horse ready. He didn't know how far his sons' captors had already traveled so he planned on meeting them before they got to Gavin's house in Rohan.

Elladan watched his father go and sighed. He knew exactly what his father was up to and he also knew he shouldn't be doing it alone.

He waited a few more minutes before quietly getting out of bed and changing into his hunting clothes. He packed some clean clothes and grabbed his pack of herbs before quietly sneaking out the door and down to the front hall.

Elladan looked outside and watched as his father galloped away towards Rohan. Elladan knew he would never be able to keep up with his father so he decided to go back and try to track his brothers' captors from where they were attacked.

It didn't take him as long as he thought it would to get back to the site of the attack, and the sun still hadn't come up yet. But he decided to try and begin tracking them anyway. He was hoping that they had made camp and he could just track them back there.

He looked around the clearing, trying to remember where he had seen the men drag his brothers away to. Finally he found the trail he was looking for and went on his way.

He could tell the men were heading towards Rohan but he didn't know how many of them there were. They hadn't been to careful though about covering their tracks and Elladan followed their trail easily.

It was mid-day before he started to hear voices from up ahead. He crept forward slowly, making sure not to make any noise that would alert the men to his presence, and looked through the underbrush.

Elladan tried not to gasp as he saw the men beating Aragorn. He looked around for Elrohir and almost cried out when he saw all the hurt and pain on his twin's face. But he kept quiet and watched; because he knew there was no way he could win against all the men. He counted at least 30 men and knew it was suicidal.

He tried to reach out to his twin mentally to give him some comfort, but Elrohir was too busy trying to save Aragorn from abuse.

Elladan looked away as the men continued to beat Aragorn and sighed. The situation was worse then they thought, and he was helpless to stop it.

He looked up again when he heard Elrohir cry out and a wave of sadness washed over him at the sight of his brother's dejected face. Elrohir said something to what looked like the leader, but Elladan couldn't hear from where he was. But it seemed to work because the men cut Aragorn down and let Elrohir clean his wounds.

Elladan stayed where he was and watched until the men left with the unconscious forms of his brothers. He followed them at a distance so they wouldn't detect him, but it took all of his will power not to go to his brothers and save them from the men's cruelties.

"_Tellin, muindor-nin._ I'm coming, my brothers." Elladan whispered as he watched the men setting up for camp around the unconscious forms of his brothers.


	4. Part 4

Sorry for not updating but I've been on vacation and then my laptop where I had this story died and the charger died and I had to wait for a new one... and yeah. So I hope you like it and I apologize for it being so short!!!

Part 4

_I'm alone  
Yeah, I don't know if I can face the night  
I'm in tears and the cryin' that I do is for you.__  
-Aerosmith_

Elrohir groaned as he regained consciousness yet again. It was at least the third time his captors had knocked him out so they could travel and he was getting tired of it.

The drugs were taking their toll on Aragorn as well. It was becoming harder and harder for Aragorn to wake up after being knocked out, but their captors didn't seem to notice.

Elrohir looked over at the unconscious form of his brother. He knew it would be a while before Aragorn woke up and he wanted to check and see how his injuries were healing. He crawled over to Aragorn and proceeded to lift up each of his bandages, checking for signs of infection.

Elrohir looked up as he finished checking over Aragorn and glared at Manet who had come over to watch the elf.

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?" Manet asked, nudging Aragorn with his boot. Elrohir shifted in front of his brother so Manet couldn't abuse him anymore.

"You've been drugging him too much and too often." Elrohir said with a growl. Manet crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the elf.

"Is that so?" Elrohir glared at the nonchalant manner of the human in front of him. Couldn't he see that he was slowly killing Aragorn?

"Yes. And if you continue to drug him like this he's not going to regain consciousness." Manet thought about it for a moment. He couldn't risk the captives escaping, but he also couldn't risk going to his employer with only one of them.

"Fine… we won't drug him next time. But you let him know that if he tries to escape we will recapture him and torture you in front of him. Got it, elf?" Elrohir merely glared at the human as he walked away from the brothers.

"_Avo drasto ge muindor-nin, s__in__ ú-__innas__brona__ an-__uir._ Don't worry my brother, it will not last forever." Elrohir whispered to Aragorn. He didn't know if his brother could hear him, but just being able to talk to someone was a comfort. He was also concerned that no one had come for them yet. He knew that Elladan had been hurt in the battle but he had no idea how badly or whether he was even still alive.

_//"Don't think like that."//_ he scolded himself. _//"I'd know if he was dead."//_ But in truth Elrohir wasn't sure if he would. He knew Elrond had a special connection with all his children, he had proved that on more than one occasion, but he wasn't sure if his and Elladan's connection was that strong… especially with all the drugs in his system muddling his senses.

"_Edraith ammen, muindor-nin. _Save us, my brother." Elrohir whispered before sleep finally claimed him. He clung involuntarily to Aragorn and slipped deeper into sleep.

XXXXX

Elladan followed the men who held his brothers for days. Every time they packed up camp they drugged them and it was all Elladan could do to not run out and stop them. But he knew he couldn't risk their safety that way, especially when they were unconscious. But he was also noticing something disturbing. Aragorn wasn't waking up as fast as he should be and Elladan had a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that it was due to them overdosing him.

"Ilúvatar keep them safe." Elladan whispered as he watched the men make camp yet again. Elrohir and Aragorn were situated off in a corner like they always were, but he didn't risk trying to talk to them because they were still heavily guarded.

Elladan watched as Elrohir regained consciousness and scooted closer to Aragorn. He watched his twin check their younger brother's bandages before the leader came over and started talking to the elf. They conversed for a minute or two and they seemed to come to some kind of agreement before Elrohir curled up next to Aragorn, who was still unconscious, and fell asleep.

Elladan bit his lip in frustration. It was killing him inside not being able to even let his brothers know that he was near them. For all he knew his brothers thought that he and Elrond had abandoned them or that he was dead.

Elladan thought for a split second after Elrohir curled up next to Aragorn that he could hear his twin's voice begging him to save them. But that couldn't be. Elrohir was all the way on the other side of the clearing and Elladan hadn't even heard really heard him say anything; it was more like he had _felt_ his brother's plea.

He shook his head; he was just imagining things that's all. He decided not to dwell on it any longer and he concentrated instead on getting together a platform in the trees that he could sleep on undetected.

It was a trick his father had taught him and Elrohir when they went on their first over night hunting trip. It was constructed of brush and foliage high up in a tree and created a little platform that was practically undetectable by someone on the forest floor.

Thinking about his family together made him sad however and he let out a deep sigh before beginning construction on the platform. Building it wouldn't take that long, but he had to find a good spot where he could keep an eye on the camp all night in case of trouble.

He finally found one. It was an ancient oak that towered over the forest floor and its branches leaned over the men's campsite. Elladan gave a quick smile at the tree before gathering the materials and scampering up the trunk into the foliage.

He whipped together a platform in minutes and sat down so he could look down on the still forms of his brothers.

"_Telin muindor-nin. _I am coming my brothers._"_ Elladan whispered as he settled down to wait for morning.

XXXXX

Elrond slowed his horse to a walk as he reached the edges of the forest. He was planning on sending the horse back to Rivendell in the morning and continuing on foot towards Rohan to try and head off the men who had his sons.

He had been worried about Elladan for a while, but he hadn't seen his son following him and he was glad that he had followed his advice. He knew his son would probably try to track him later though, so he had made sure that no one could follow his trail, except perhaps Aragorn. But as he was captured at the moment that didn't really matter.

Elrond looked around him as the forest began to thin out. He knew he would soon be to the plains, but that didn't bother him too much and he was just glad that he was making good time. He judged that he was at least 2 days ahead of his son's captors by taking the shortcut through Rivendell and he had plenty of time to wait them out.

The only thing that could go wrong now was if his information on the whereabouts of Gavin was incorrect or the men were actually ahead of him. He shook his head. He couldn't think like that if he wanted to save his sons.

He slowed down the horse at the edge of the woods and got down to make camp for the night. He knew he wasn't that far from a clearing and the horse would be safe with him tonight. He would send him home in the morning and make his way on foot, but for now he could provide the elf lord with some company for the night.

Elrond finally found the clearing and settled down for the night next to the horse. He would need all of his strength for tomorrow and he didn't know how many men he would be up against.

Suddenly there was a snap of branches from behind him and Elrond got up quickly, drawing his bow. He crouched down in the shadows and waited to see who it was. But he couldn't see anything.

_//"Maybe I'm just tired from lack of rest."//_ he thought to himself as he settled back down next to his horse. But he remained alert even as sleep claimed him for the night.


	5. Part 5

I'm sorry it's take so long to update but I'm so tired from soccer practice and I've pulled about 700 muscles this week that it's taken me a whole week to write this much!

Just an aside, I've stopped putting music lyrics in this because people seem to think that either:

a) They don't go with the chapter

b)They are illegal on fanfic

The gist of it is… either my quotes are awful or I'm a criminal who has committed illegal acts for the past 4 chapters. Oh woe is me!

Anyway… I hope you enjoy this and please don't blame me for the cliffie! It's 12:30 at night and I have been getting up at 6:15am everyday this week so I'm exhausted. Enjoy!!!

Part 5

Elrohir stirred slightly as he felt Aragorn move underneath him. He quickly moved over to give his brother some space to sit up and breathe for a moment.

"How long have I been out?" Aragorn asked groggily in elvish as he looked around at Elrohir. They had realized very early that their captors didn't speak elvish so they could talk without anyone suspecting anything. Aragorn stifled a yawn as he realized that it was late in the day and the sun was already behind the mountains.

Elrohir shrugged. "No longer than usual, a couple of hours at the most." Aragorn sighed and leaned back against a tree, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Then why do I feel so tired?" he asked without opening his eyes. Elrohir bit his lip but didn't answer. Aragorn opened his eyes when his brother didn't answer and stared at Elrohir for a moment. "What is it, Elrohir?"

Elrohir sighed. It wasn't fair to keep it from Aragorn, and he was slightly surprised that he hadn't asked sooner.

He looked up at his brother. "The men have been overdosing you, Estel." He held up his bound hands before Aragorn could interrupt. "I have already spoken with Manet and it's all taken care of. He promised not to drug you anymore. We are almost there anyway; it should only be another day or two."

Aragorn continued to look at his brother, a quizzical look on his face. "How did you manage that?"

"It wasn't that hard." Elrohir joked casually. But Aragorn knew his brother too well to be fooled.

"They're still going to be drugging you, aren't they?" Aragorn whispered. Elrohir sighed and nodded.

"They said if you try to escape they will capture you and kill me in front of you while I'm still unconscious." Now it was Aragorn's turn to nod and he leaned forward so that he was right in front of Elrohir's face.

"We will get out of this, _muindor-nin._" Aragorn whispered, locking eyes with his brother. "Ada and Elladan will rescue us. I know they will."

"So do I, _muindor-nin_." Elrohir said with a smile. "You know, I think Ada was right in naming you Estel."

Aragorn rolled his eyes. "I wonder where I've heard that before. I mean I've only heard that about ten times." Elrohir had to laugh softly to himself at Aragorn's sarcasm.

"You know Estel. Considering the situation we're in you could have thanked me or something." Aragorn merely shrugged and leaned back against the tree.

"I didn't know that was supposed to be a compliment." Elrohir saw the faintest flicker of laughter in his brother's eyes and smiled.

"It wasn't." Elrohir said simply. Aragorn looked at his brother with an angry expression on his face, but Elrohir could tell that his brother was trying very hard not to smile.

It didn't succeed.

Aragorn suddenly burst out laughing and Elrohir had to laugh right along with him, until a shout from behind them made them quiet down.

"Shut up over there or I'll take the whip to you." Manet shouted from across the campsite. Elrohir glared over at the men around the fire and turned back to Aragorn who had unconsciously pressed his back tighter against the tree. There was no doubt in Elrohir's mind that Aragorn was remembering the last time he had come in contact with Manet's whip. The memory still burned in Elrohir's memory and made him sick with hate. But he quickly pushed the memory away and concentrated on Aragorn who was starting to fall asleep again.

"Why don't you just rest, Estel? I'll wake you up before we move out." Aragorn nodded slowly and was quickly fast asleep.

Elrohir looked at his brother for a moment before scooting next to him and turning back towards the fire. He watched the flames dance for a long while, waiting for the next time he would be drugged and hauled away.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elrond sat up again as another snap off to his right startled him awake. He picked up his bow and quickly notched an arrow, pointing it over towards where the sound had come from. But he still couldn't see anything.

Elrond knew he was just paranoid, but all the same he decided to stay awake for the night. It wouldn't hurt and this way he could think some things over.

With that thought in mind he leaned back against his horse with his bow within reach and listened to the sounds of the forest.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gavin stared out his study window. Manet should have delivered the elven brats to him a while ago, and the wait was making him edgy.

It's not that he thought Manet would cross him, he knew better than that, but he was afraid that Manet's men wouldn't be enough to subdue two elves.

He sighed and continued to stare out the window, watching the birds and the clouds and whatever else happened to be flying by the window at that particular moment.

His gazing was interrupted by a loud knock on the study door. He hoped it was a servant coming to tell him that Manet had finally arrived with the prisoners.

"Come in." he said without turning around. He knew from years of experience never to let his servants see his eagerness; they could use that against him.

He heard the soft creak of the door being opened and the small shuffle of a servant. But still he didn't turn around. Servants were unimportant. It was not good to give them any ideas.

"My Lord?" Gavin still did not turn towards the servant but merely sighed, as if the servant's presence was a burden and a trouble to him.

"Yes, what is it?" he asked in a bored, troubled drawl. He could just see the servant squirming silently behind him and it made him want to smile. But he didn't want to risk the servant catching his reflection smiling so he contained it and kept a serious, bored face.

"There's a messenger to see you, my Lord, named Dolar." Gavin tensed ever so slightly at the name. He knew it from somewhere… "He says a man named Manet sent him about some shipments you ordered." Gavin laughed to himself. Of course! Dolar was Manet's second in command.

"Send him in." Gavin said, finally turning around and sitting in an over-stuffed armchair behind his desk. When the servant had departed, amid many bows and "yes my lord"'s, Gavin smiled to himself. Finally he would get some answers as to why Manet was taking so long. He wanted those elves so badly. He had been planning this since that fateful day that Elrond had killed his father. He wanted Elrond to know the pain that he went through, the mourning and the suffering. And he felt quite justified in taking both of his sons' lives. Brelen's life for Elladan's and Elrohir's that was quite fair in his mind.

While Gavin waits for Dolar to be sent up he wonders what the man has to say. He hopes he's at least come to explain the reason for the delay, if not to deliver the elves himself.

Another knock on the door interrupted his reverie and called out to the servant to come in. He made sure his voice sounded bored and annoyed at the same time, but in reality he was so excited that his heart felt like it would jump into his throat!

"The messenger Dolar, my Lord." the servant said with a bow as a middle-aged man that Gavin recognized immediately followed him through the door.

"Yes, yes." Gavin said waving his hand at the servant. "You can go now. But make sure you're near by to show this man out when we're done." The servant nodded obediently and bowed himself out the door leaving Dolar alone with Gavin.

Dolar stood awkwardly in front of the now closed door and faced Gavin, waiting for instructions or an invitation to start talking. He wasn't very good with business and politics and the like and Gavin always made him nervous.

Gavin motioned to a chair in front of him, inviting Dolar to sit, and stares at the man for a few moments. Dolar squirms a little in his seat under the intensity of the gaze. He felt like he was a horse being sized up by a trader.

"Well?" Gavin said impatiently, leaning back in his chair. "Why are you here?" _//"And where are my elves?"//_ he thinks to himself, but he doesn't say it aloud.

"Well, my lord…" Dolar stutters slightly. Gavin resists the urge to grin at the man's discomfort and keeps his face blank.

Gavin nods for the man to continue and Dolar sighs slightly. "Manetsentmetotellyouthathehastheprisonersbutitdidn'tgorightandoneishumanandit'snothisfaultbutthehumanisoneoftheelf'ssonssomehowandhewillbeheresoonwiththem." Gavin simply stares at the human as he spews out his message in a blur of words.

"What?" Gavin was going to say something witty or cruel, but "What?" seemed the best way to sum it all up. Dolar's face turns beet red but he repeats his message slower.

"Manet sent me to tell you that he has the prisoners but it didn't go right and one is human and it's not his fault but the human is one of the elf's sons somehow and he will be here soon with them." Gavin face is livid and Dolar feels himself shrinking under the intensity of his gaze.

"What do you mean one of them is human?!" Gavin screams at the man. All his perfect plans, ruined! How could this have happened?

"One of the prisoners is human. But the elf claims that he is his brother." Dolar says in a terrified whisper. "And either he's a really good actor or he's telling the truth. We captured the human by mistake. It was nighttime… and he was the first one we could subdue… and we didn't know at the time… and he _was_ with them… and we had been watching them together all day…"

Gavin holds his had up for silence, his anger slowly receding. If what the man said was true than his plans were not totally ruined after all.

"You are sure about this?" Dolar gives a small nod from his chair. "You had better hope so or it will be your head! Now go!" Dolar practically flips the chair over in his haste to get away and a servant quickly shows his out.

_//"Well."//_ Gavin thinks ruefully. _//"This should be interesting."//_ A smug smile appears on his face and he goes back to biding his time by watching the birds and the clouds out his window.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elladan watched the men down in the camp waiting for them to start out again. He knew they were right on the Roheran Plains, but he didn't know how far from there it was to Gavin's house. He supposed it only had to be a day or two, but for all he knew it could be more.

He had observed Elrohir and Aragorn talking earlier and wondered idly what it was about. But he couldn't hear them at all and the conversation was short anyway.

Suddenly he heard someone cry out the signal to move out and he watched as Elrohir was drugged as usual, but was surprised when no one drugged Aragorn. Elladan suddenly remembered the conversation he saw his brother having with the leader earlier and realized this must have been what they were talking about.

He had to smile at his brother's persuasiveness before getting ready to follow the men himself. He quickly gathered up his bow and slung his quiver over his shoulder before jumping lightly out of the tree onto the forest floor.

Suddenly he was grabbed from behind and wet cloth placed over his face. Which, he realized too late, was drug soaked. Elladan struggled for only a moment before consciousness fled him and he spiraled into darkness.


	6. Part 6

PART 6

Aragorn watched with a worried expression as Elrohir slowly regained consciousness. He had been worried about the elf all day after watching how the men treated him when he was unconscious.

_//"Although,"// _he mused. _//"that would explain why I'm always so sore after they make camp."//_ The men had been more than rough with the unconscious elf and Aragorn realized that they had probably been the same, if not worse, with him.

Elrohir looked over at his brother who was leaning against a boulder. They had made camp in the middle of the Roheran Plains and so there were no trees to lean against.

"How long have I been out?" Elrohir asked in elvish as he scooted closer to Aragorn and leaned against the same boulder.

Aragorn chuckled. "Now where have I heard that before?" Elrohir had to chuckle as well.

"I'm serious, Estel." Aragorn shrugged, which is not the easiest thing to do without the use of your hands.

"Well it's not like you were out that long. You are an elf." Elrohir nodded and closed his eyes against the setting sun.

"Did anything exciting happen while I was out?" Elrohir asked casually, not really expecting an answer. But still, it was kind of calming just being able to hear the grey tongue.

Aragorn thought about it for a moment. "Actually, now that you mention it, some of the men caught up with our group about mid-day and said something about another prisoner."

Elrohir jerked awake immediately and looked at Aragorn. "You are sure of this, Estel?" he asked trying not to let the surprise and alarm slip into his voice.

Aragorn looked surprised at the elf's sudden interest but nodded. "I am pretty sure, but they were talking to Manet who was a couple of horses ahead so I don't know who it is."

Elrohir's face suddenly took on the look of a human who was about to swear under their breath, but of course Elrohir did no such thing.

"What is it, _muindor-nin_?" Aragorn asked in concern at the look on his brother's face.

"I am worried, Estel." Elrohir said very quietly even though none of the men could understand them anyway. "What if this new prisoner is an elf who was sent to rescue us? Do you have any idea what they will do to them?"

Aragorn suddenly realized what his brother was saying and actually swore under his breath. What if it was Ada? Or Elladan?

"We have to figure out who this prisoner is." Aragorn said just as softly, but still in elvish so their captor's couldn't understand them.

"I agree Estel, but the question is… how?" Elrohir asked in a normal voice. He had noticed some of the men getting suspicious of their whispering and realized that talking normally in elvish was a better cover.

"I don't know, Elladan." Aragorn said in an equally normal voice. He had realized what his brother was doing and silently agreed with his decision.

"Did you see where they were keeping the prisoner?"

"No. He was at the back of the group, presumably so I couldn't see him. And they made sure that the new prisoner never went within my line of sight." Elrohir gritted his teeth in frustration.

"This is worse than I thought." he muttered. "They must know that we probably know this new prisoner and are going to great lengths to stop us from making contact."

"Then we should definitely try to make contact." Aragorn said decisively. Elrohir nodded in agreement.

"But," he warned quietly. "We have to make sure they don't notice and that's going to be hard to do."

Aragorn nodded. "We should wait until they're asleep then try."

"I agree. But we still have to watch out for the sentries." Elrohir said pointing to the men who already ringed the camp. "There will be even more now that we are in the open plains."

"I know." Aragorn said simply. "But we need to try because I don't think they're going to just tell us who this prisoner is."

Suddenly they heard shouting from the other side of the camp and they both craned their necks over the boulder to try to see what was going on. But a couple of the men came over and shoved them back down.

"That's not for your eyes." they said gruffly as they stood in front of the brothers.

Aragorn groaned inside. They were so close! But Elrohir just seemed to fidget next to him.

"What's wrong, _muindor-nin_?" Aragorn asked quietly in elvish.

Elrohir shook his head. "I don't know, Estel. I just have this nagging feeling that Elladan is in trouble. But I'm sure it's nothing, just my subconscious trying to cope with the yelling and the knowledge that it might be Elladan… or something like that."

Aragorn had to laugh at that excuse. "Where did you come up with that? One of Ada's books?"

Elrohir looked sheepish for a moment before beginning his fidgeting again. "Well it might be. Still… I can't shake this feeling of dread."

Aragorn put his bound hands on his brother's shoulders for comfort and Elladan gave him a small smile before leaning back against the boulder and trying to block out the noises from the camp.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elladan slowly opened his eyes to see that the sun was setting beyond the open hills. He jerked quickly awake when he realized that he had somehow made it to the Plains.

"What…" he said before he silenced by a slap to the face. His head reeled for a moment and he felt blood at the corner of his mouth but he looked back defiantly at the man who stood over him.

"Don't speak, elf." the man said angrily. He had a huge whip in his hand which made a pit settle in Elladan's stomach, but he didn't let his captor know his discomfort.

"Now… who are you? And why were you spying on me and my men?" Elladan remained silent, not wanting to give his captor, whom he now recognized as the leader of the men who had captured his brothers, the satisfaction of knowing who they had.

The man struck him again, harder, and Elladan felt more blood on his face. But still he remained silent.

"I don't think this is going to work boss." said a man that Elladan recognized as the second in command, or that's what he assumed. "He looks exactly like that other elf so they must be related, right?"

Elladan felt his heart slide into his throat; if they recognized him both he and his brothers were doomed. But the leader shook his head.

"But all elves look the same though don't they? For all we know this elf is disposable and we can kill him without anyone being the wiser. But I don't want to take the chance that this is that other elf brat we were supposed to capture in the first place." he glared at his second in command when he said the last part, but the man only nodded and stood back to watch his boss at work. Or help if called upon.

"Now elf." the leader said with a growl. "Are you going to cooperate or are we going to have to use drastic measures?" he brandished the whip as he said this and Elladan's heart did a little shudder of fear but Elladan maintained his silence and composure.

"Fine." he spat at Elladan. "Let's see if you'll talk with your friends being whipped." He motioned to other man to go grab Elrohir and Aragorn.

Elladan struggled to maintain his composure, but he had to believe that the man was merely bluffing. Unfortunately he wasn't.


	7. Part 7

PART 7

Suddenly the sounds stopped from the other side of the camp. Elrohir stole a confused glance at Aragorn who returned the look.

"Have they stopped already?" Elrohir asked with some surprise. Aragorn only shrugged.

"It sounds like it." he said softly. "But it didn't sound like they got what they wanted either. Maybe…" But Aragorn didn't finish his statement for at that moment Dolar walked around the side of the boulder.

"Bet you've been wondering about the shouts, huh?" he sneered as he glared down at Aragorn and Elrohir. The duo didn't answer and Dolar motioned to the two men guarding them.

The men grabbed the brothers' bound hands and jerked them to their feet before leading over to the other side of the camp where Manet was standing over a bound figure.

Elrohir's heart seemed to stop as the figure looked up and Elrohir recognized who it was. Elladan's face was bloody and his hair was matted. Elrohir felt Aragorn tense next to him and realized that the ranger had recognized Elladan as well.

"So glad you could join us." Manet said when Elrohir and Aragorn were close enough. He nodded towards two neighboring trees and the men nodded before fastening the brothers' hands above their heads so their feet just barely touched the ground.

Elladan's eyes were sorrowful as he watched his brothers being strung up, but he knew it would only be worse for all of them if he spoke now.

"Now do you feel like talking?" Manet asked, kneeling down in front of Elladan. "Now that you know that I'm not bluffing and I really will hurt your friends."

"_Avo bedo muindor-nin!_" Elrohir cried to Elladan. "Do not speak my brother!"

The man standing next Elrohir punched him in the face sending his head smashing against the back of the tree. Blood dripped from his temple and Elladan looked ready to kill the men but Elrohir merely shook his head.

Elrohir felt the anger radiating from Aragorn and turned to his brother, pleading with him to not do anything foolish. He didn't think he could watch them beating his younger brother again.

"Fine." Manet said calmly. He stood up and walked over to where Aragorn was bound, unfurling the whip as he went.

"No!" Elrohir cried, struggling against the man who had come over to hold him in place. "Don't do this Manet! Punish me instead; he is still recovering from the last time."

Manet turned to the elf and grinned wickedly. "All the more reason to whip him instead, besides… how do I know he even knows this elf?" he paused as if weighing his options, but Elrohir knew he was only taunting them. "No. I think I'll stick with him."

And with that the man next to Aragorn stripped him to the waist and gave him a punch upside the head for good measure that sent his head slamming back against the tree. Blood dripped from his mouth and temple but he did not make a sound.

Manet held the whip up threateningly as Aragorn was rotated so his back was facing Manet. Elladan thought he saw a slight shiver of fear run through Aragorn's body, but still he did not answer the man. Elrohir remained silent as well, though the thought of that whip on his brother again nearly broke his heart.

Manet shrugged and brought the whip down hard across Aragorn's shoulder blades. Aragorn arched under the pain but didn't make a sound. Manet looked at the two elves again, but neither one was going to talk anytime soon. Aragorn understood that and did not blame his brothers.

Manet only laughed. He enjoyed causing others pain and he could do this all day. He brought the whip down in the same spot, drawing blood and Aragorn arched again under the pain. But still he didn't make a sound.

Manet attacked Aragorn with renewed vigor, bringing the whip down faster and harder every time until finally a small whimper escaped Aragorn's lips.

Elrohir tried to block out that whimper, but he couldn't and the man next to him tightened his hold as he felt the elf struggling harder.

Manet ignored the elf's struggling and continued to beat Aragorn until the human uttered a single cry of pain. His back was now a bloody mess and he was panting form the effort to try and get away from the menacing whip.

Manet paused for a second and looked at the devastated faces of the two elves. He smiled and walked slowly away from the sagging form of Aragorn.

"Are you ready to talk now?" he asked kindly. Neither elf looked at him or seemed to acknowledge him as they stared at the bloody human.

"Fine!" he hissed in anger and proceeded to whip Aragorn some more. Aragorn no longer had the strength to hold back the sobs that racked his body and he slumped forward in defeat. He no longer felt the pain as badly and he knew it was only a matter of time before he blacked out.

He heard Elrohir cry out next to him before his vision blackened he felt no more.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Stop!" Elrohir cried out as he saw Aragorn black out next to him. Manet stopped as he realized that Aragorn was no longer conscious and looked over at Elladan.

"Now will you talk?" he asked as he moved over to Elrohir. "Or should I just continue with your elven friend here?"

Elladan closed his eyes against the sight of his brother's bloody body hanging from the tree. Tears threatened to escape but he regained his composure and glared at Manet with so much hatred that if looks could kill Manet would've died a slow and horrible death right then and there.

"And if I still refuse?" Elladan asked quietly, not looking over at Aragorn.

"This human will die!" Manet said angrily, grabbing Aragorn's hair and yanking his head up. He grabbed a knife from his belt and pressed against Aragorn's neck, drawing blood.

Elladan looked over at Elrohir, begging him for guidance. Elrohir nodded his head in defeat and let his head drop forward. He knew they were now doomed.

"Wait." Elladan said quietly. "I'll tell you who I am if you promise not to kill either of them and we can tend his wounds." he motioned to Aragorn as he said this and Manet nodded, dropping Aragorn's head as he did.

He walked over to Elladan and kneeled down in front of him, a cruel smile playing across his lips. "Well?"

Elladan sighed. "My name is Elladan, son of Elrond, Lord of Rivendell. These are my brothers." Elladan thought Manet's eyes would pop out of their sockets in delight.

He got up and motioned Dolar over to him. "Cut them down and give these elves their packs so they can tend the human's wounds." he said this quietly so only Elladan and Elrohir with their elven hearing could possibly hear him, and Dolar of course. Dolar nodded and motioned to the men around him who did as he asked.

Elrohir rubbed his wrists as best he could with his hands still bound and caught Aragorn as he fell. He dragged the human over to Elladan who was getting the herbs and bandages ready and proceeded to help his brother with Aragorn's wounds.


	8. Part 8

Just a warning… this chapter turned out really lovey-dovey. It's one of those chapters where someone goes "I'm sorry, it's all my fault." And then the other person goes, "It's not your fault, there was nothing you could do." And then they argued back and forth. But the rest of the chapter's good so please… read on!

PART 7

The elves worked tirelessly over Aragorn's bruised and battered body, silently happy that their brother was unconscious for it. The wounds were really bad and some of the whip marks had opened up the old scars so the cuts were really deep and prone to infection.

Elladan sat back on his heels when they were done and watched as Elrohir gently laid Aragorn's head in his lap so the human wouldn't be stiff when he regained consciousness. The men came back over and rebound their hands which had been originally unbound so they could more easily check Aragorn's wounds.

"_Goheno nin, _ElrohirForgive me, Elrohir. " Elladan said quietly as he watched his younger brother's lifeless body. Elrohir looked over at his twin.

"_Daro, _Elladan. Stop, Elladan." Elrohir said, laying a hand on his brother's knee. "There is nothing to forgive, _muindor-nin, _for you have done nothing wrong." Elladan looked away and sighed.

"Estel should not be like that right now, and I saw the old scars and heard you say that Estel was still recovering from the last time. How many times have there been?" Elladan asked sadly. He couldn't imagine what Elrohir had gone through watching Aragorn being beaten again.

"Just one other time. When we were first captured they didn't know that Estel was our brother, they wanted you instead. They beat him to try and get a confession about who he was." Elrohir paused before continuing. "He passed out then as well."

Elladan grit his teeth in frustration. "I should have noticed the men were after us! I should have stopped this before it even began by killing them all in the woods! I should have… I should have…" Elladan choked back the tears that his younger brother's torture caused and dropped his head in sorrow. "I should have protected you both better."

Elrohir scooted closer to his brother, being careful of Estel's injuries, and lifted Elladan's face until he was looking into his brother's eyes.

"There was nothing you could, _muindor-nin_." Elrohir said firmly. "Just the fact that you came to rescue us is enough for me. I didn't know if you were alive or dead until I saw you today. Don't punish yourself for this."

Aragorn stirred slightly in Elrohir's lap and moaned softly in pain. Elrohir gently stopped him from rolling over and whispered gently in his ear.

"_Sîdh_Estel_, pân natha __mae._ Be calm Estel, it will be alright." Elladan listened to his brother's soothing words until Estel gently quieted, the words having the same affect on him as well.

"We will get out of here, Elrohir." Elladan said quietly, not only for his brother's benefit but for him as well. "Ada is out looking for us as well. We will be all right."

Elrohir smiled. "_Iston, muindor-nin._ I know, my brother. I never doubted it." And with that the brother's sat back in a peaceful silence to wait for Aragorn to wake up.

XXXXXXXXXX

Manet looked over at the two elves bending over the unconscious human. He could tell they were talking to each other, but they were using that weird elf speak that their kind was so fond of.

_//"Phaw!"// _he thought to himself with a scowl. _//"These elves are more trouble than they're worth, and so's that human their so fond of."//_ that was another thing that was bothering him still. _Why did the elves care so much for the human?_ It's not that he had anything against humans, being one himself, but it just didn't make any sense. Elves just did not associate with humans, as equals that is. Plenty of them dealt with humans, but all the ones that Manet had ever met had acted superior to humans and it drove Manet crazy.

That's why it bothered Manet so much. He thought at first that the first elf they had caught was just protecting the human because it was his nature. But after watching the elves give up everything to save the human, well he was confused about the whole thing. And he still didn't believe that the human was the elves' brother, figuratively or otherwise.

"Hey boss." Dolar said sitting down next to him. Manet looked up at his second in command and was surprised to see a look of suspicion pass over his face as he saw who Manet had been scowling at earlier.

"What is it Dolar?" Manet asked, turning to the man and lowering his voice.

Dolar scowled. "I don't like it." Manet gave him a confused look, not having any idea what the man was talking about. Dolar noticed the look Manet was giving him and motioned to the elves who were still conversing quietly together.

"Them talking in that elf speak all the time. I don't like it." Dolar said with another scowl. "How do we know they ain't planning on attacking us in our sleep or something?"

Manet thought about it for a moment. He had never really thought about it before, but Dolar had a point, and especially now that there were two elves to deal with.

"You're right, Dolar." Manet said quietly so only his second in command could hear him. "I'll tell them no more elf speak and we'll double the guard on them." Dolar nodded as Manet got up and headed over to where the elves were now resting against the boulder. The human was still unconscious and the elves had him lying on their laps, keeping his bandaged back off the ground.

The elves looked up as he approached and Manet noticed one of them visibly tighten his grip on the human, as if he thought that Manet was going to take him away and hurt him again.

"What do you want now?" the other elf asked when Manet stopped in front of them.

Manet ignored the question. "How is he?" the elf holding the human only glared at him and Manet realized they weren't going to talk. "Fine. Have it your way then. But there are some new rules you're going to have to follow."

"Or what?" the elf, Manet gave up on which one it was, asked angrily.

"Or the human will undergo another beating like the one today." Manet said calmly. As much as Manet hated using the human all the time, he realized that he was a valuable pawn and that he could use him to keep the elves in line.

"You wouldn't." the elf said menacingly, tightening his hold on the human. Manet only shrugged.

"Why not? All you have to do is not talk in that elf speak of yours any more and he'll be fine." the elves looked suspicious but nodded.

"Fine. If you promise not to hurt our brother any more we'll promise not to use the grey tongue." The elf said calmly. Manet just stood there for a moment. He hadn't expected the elves to agree so quickly, but he finally got over it and walked back over to Dolar. Still thinking about the elves relationship with the human and how he could use it to his advantage.

XXXXXXXXXX

The twins watched Manet go with obvious dislike on their faces. They knew that Dolar had said something to him because the man had been pretty fair with them and allowed them to talk to each other in elvish.

"What are we going to do now that we can't use the grey tongue?" Elrohir whispered quietly to Elladan so no one could hear them.

Elladan grinned. "Talk so softly that only our elven hearing and Aragorn and could possibly hear it." Elrohir had to laugh at that and nodded. It wasn't the best solution, but it worked and they could still talk quietly to each other without their guards over hearing.

"We better tell Estel when he wakes up though, so the men don't have an excuse to beat him again." Elladan thought he saw a flicker of pain cross his brother's face as he said that, but it was only for a second and then Elrohir looked down at the still form of Aragorn.

A soft moan escaped Aragorn's lips and the twins shifted slightly so he could see them while he was lying on his stomach.

"I feel like a blacksmith used me for an anvil." Aragorn muttered with another groan as he saw his two brothers staring at him.

"Well you were unconscious for a couple of hours." Elladan said with a smile. Aragorn only nodded and tried to sit up, but the pain in his back was too bad and he lay back down with a grunt of pain.

"Would one of you lazy elves like to help me?" Aragorn asked looking at his two brothers questioningly.

Elrohir laughed and helped Aragorn to lean against the boulder between the twins. Aragorn sighed when he was finally up and gingerly shifted his position with a small hiss. The brother's sat that way for a moment when Aragorn suddenly looked at Elrohir.

"Why weren't you talking in elvish when I woke up?" he asked quietly, not wanting the guards, who had seemed to grow in numbers since he had been unconscious, to notice them talking.

Elrohir looked over towards the campfire where Manet was deep in conversation with Dolar. Aragorn thought he saw a look of hatred in his brother's eyes but when the elf looked back at his brother he merely shrugged.

"Manet has forbidden us to speak in the grey tongue any more under pain of watching you get another beating." he said quietly. Aragorn looked to Elladan for confirmation and the elf nodded.

"It's true." he said simply. "We think Dolar got to him but we aren't sure." Aragorn nodded and sighed.

"We're going to have to be careful about what we say." he said quietly so only his brothers could hear. "And speak really quietly too."

His brothers nodded and Aragorn leaned back against the boulder and sighed. "Get some sleep Estel." Elrohir said gently, pressing his brother farther back against the boulder but still being wary about his injuries.

Aragorn nodded and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.


	9. Part 9

PART 9

Elrond watched the sun come up over the mountains with a small smile on his face. There hadn't been any trouble during the night, for which he was very glad, and he was all set to send the horse back to Rivendell.

He set about concealing the camp from wandering parties, or his son if he happened to get that far. He packed up his food and supplies and gathered up his weapons before turning back to his horse who was standing quietly off to the side.

"_Boe i bedil._ You must go." Elrond said quietly, rubbing the horse's nose comfortingly. "You know where to go." And with that he patted the horse on the rump and watched it gallop off into the woods before breaking through the line of trees out onto the plains.

He looked around for any sign of movement before walking completely out into the open. He didn't want to be ambushed where there was no tree cover, but there was no movement and the forest was normal so he continued out across the plains towards where his sources had told him Gavin would be.

Of course, he hoped to find the men who had captured his sons first, but if not and his calculation had been off then he would have to go to Gavin directly. And he would make sure that no harm befell his sons, even if that meant Gavin's death.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Move out!" Manet called at first light. The camp burst into life and everyone began the hectic task of packing everything up and getting the campsite concealed as best they could. Which wasn't very good since any tracker with any skill at all could easily find it, but that wasn't the point.

Elrohir and Elladan had stayed up all night watching over Aragorn as he slept and they now gently shook him awake before the men came over and woke him up forcefully.

"Time to get up already?" he asked with a yawn. Elrohir gave a small smile and nodded towards the center of the camp where the men were still trying to load everything onto the horses.

Elladan nudged Elrohir with his foot and nodded towards Manet who was striding over to them. He was carrying a couple of dripping cloths that the trio knew immediately were drugged.

Manet handed two cloths to the guards before going over to the trio and crouching down so they were almost eye to eye. He looked from the elves to the human, as if trying to figure something out, before locking eyes with Aragorn.

"Remember." he said with a smile. "If you do anything to try and escape I will kill them." He stood up after saying this and looked at the guards. "We're on the last leg of our journey and we don't need any trouble. I want to get there by noon-time so make sure they're deeply drugged.

The guards nodded and walked towards the elves who shied away automatically, but there was no where to go as they had a boulder behind them and their hands were bound. Eventually the guards got the drugged cloth over their faces and Aragorn felt the elves slump on either side of him.

"_Avo drasto ge, muindor-nin._ Do not worry, my brothers." Aragorn said softly so the guards couldn't hear him. This was more to reassure himself than his unconscious brothers, but he didn't have time to say anything else as another guard dragged him to his feet and threw him onto a horse just in front of where his brothers were lying bound on other horses.

"Let's go!" Manet called from the front of the group and the whole camp moved out. Aragorn could just see Manet and Dolar a couple of horses ahead of him speaking quietly to each other. If what Manet had said earlier was true, then they didn't have long until they would be in the hands of the man who really wanted them, although Aragorn wasn't sure who that was. He thought maybe Elladan knew but his brother hadn't told them anything last night, unless he had told Elrohir when Aragorn had been unconscious.

He looked over at the guard who was guiding his horse, since Aragorn's hands were bound, and sighed. He didn't know what awaited them at the end of the journey, but he really didn't want to find out.

XXXXXXXXXX

Aragorn watched the sun travel across the sky, marking the passage of time until they reached their destination. The sun was directly overhead now which meant that they would soon be there, but Aragorn still didn't know what to expect. He had tried to catch snippets of conversation from the guards around him, using all of his skills as a ranger to do so, but none of them were talking about where they were going or who they were meeting. In fact, none of them were talking much at all.

Aragorn sighed and was just starting to relax in his horse's saddle when a call from the front of the group announced that they were there. Aragorn looked at the men around him and was surprised to see that everyone had tensed up, as if they were afraid of where they were going and would like nothing more than to leave without even entering.

_//"What is so horrible that the men are afraid of this place?"//_ Aragorn wondered to himself. It made him uneasy, and he fidgeted slightly as he looked ahead and finally saw their destination. And it didn't help with his nerves at all.

Up ahead, nestled in a huge depression that might have once been a lake, was a giant black fortress. It looked menacing and foreboding even from where Aragorn was, and he guessed he must have been at least a mile away still. It had sharp spires reaching up into the sky from the tops of all the turrets and all the windows seemed to be cloaked in shadow. If Aragorn didn't know any better, he would have thought that a Nazgûl lived there. But he knew that the Nazgûl only lived in Mordor, which was far from where they were now.

After about half an hour they were all standing in front of the fortress, including Elladan and Elrohir. Manet had had some of his men wake them up and now they were standing on either side of Aragorn. Anxiously waiting for what ever was coming, which they all knew was nothing good. Who ever lived in the fortress went through a lot of trouble to get them there which meant that they wanted the brothers badly. But they didn't know why. At least, Elrohir and Aragorn didn't. Elladan knew who was behind all this, and what he was probably going to do to them, but he didn't share this with his brothers. There was no sense in getting them worried as well.

The doors to the fortress suddenly creaked open and Aragorn felt Elladan tense beside him, but he didn't have time to wonder at it for at that moment a man walked out in flowing black robes. He appeared to be about middle-age, but there was no grey in his hair and his eyes were dead and black.

He looked at the brothers with a wicked smile on his face and walked closer. Aragorn thought he felt the men around him tense slightly as the man approached, but he couldn't be sure.

"So… these are the sons of Elrond." the man said with the same, cruel smile on his face. "But who is this human?" his smile instantly vanished as he noticed Aragorn standing between the elves. Elladan and Elrohir unconsciously moved closer to their younger brother, as if trying to protect from the man's evil gaze.

The man ignored them and turned to Manet. "Well? Who is he? I asked only for Elrond's sons." Manet seemed to shrink under the man's gaze and he stuttered slightly as he spoke.

"W-well m-my l-lord." Manet began, taking a step forward. "Th-that is the h-human that D-Dolar told you about b-before. The one that is s-someh-how the elf's son as w-well."

The man nodded and the smile returned to his face. "Yes. Of course, I had forgotten. This will be most interesting." He motioned back towards the castle and a couple of guards came out with their weapons drawn. "Take them inside and place them in a cell together. Untie their hands as well, but make sure they can't escape." One of the guards, presumably the leader, nodded and motioned his men forward. They grabbed the brothers and dragged them inside.

Aragorn tried to remember the passages they took, but they took many turns that he couldn't remember and he was distracted by the darkness that hung inside the fortress like a cloud. It made him shiver with fear and anticipation.

After what seemed like hours they were finally lead down an even darker stone passageway and thrown into a dank cell with only some straw in a corner for a bed. The guards quickly untied their hands and left, locking the door behind them with a huge _bang!_

Aragorn rubbed his wrists from where the rope had been digging in and surveyed their surroundings. It looked exactly the same as it did when he got his first look, dank and foreboding with only a pile of straw in one corner. It had manacles on the wall and no windows, only a couple of torches that were set in sconces high above their heads.

"Well… at least the straw is clean." Elrohir said quietly as he sat down in the corner. Aragorn and Elladan only nodded and joined their brother in the corner. None of them had any idea what awaited them, and they were pretty sure they didn't want to find out.


	10. Part 10

Sorry this is so short, but I'm tired and sore and I have my first soccer game tomorrow but I thought I should update since I haven't in a little while.

PART 10

Aragorn was tired. He was still trying to heal from his last abuse at the hands of Manet and he hadn't had a good night's sleep since he had been captured. But he couldn't sleep. Not even with his brothers next to him telling him to.

"Go to sleep, Estel." Elrohir said for the umpteenth time as he looked over at the human.

Aragorn sighed. "I can't sleep in this place. And besides, I'm not tired." Elladan chuckled and turned towards the human as well.

"I know what you mean, Estel." he said as he took a quick look around their cell. "This place is dark and evil. But you are still healing and you ARE tired."

Aragorn shook his head as he stifled a yawn and sighed.

"Alright, so I'm a little tired." he admitted sheepishly. "But I'm fine. Like I said before, I can't sleep in this place."

"You'll need all your strength, Estel." Elrohir said quietly. "We do not know who is keeping us prisoner or what they want. It could be bad."

Elladan fidgeted slightly next to Aragorn and the brothers turned to look at him. "That's not exactly true…" he said quietly.

"What are you talking about Elladan?" Aragorn asked his brother curiously.

Elladan sighed. "After you two were taken I was unconscious for a while. Ada came and found me and took me back home. Manet had pinned a cloth with a symbol on it to my clothes and Ada immediately recognized it."

Aragorn and Elrohir listened in rapt attention as Elladan told them all about Elrond's capture at the hands of Brelen and his subsequent death.

"Ada believed that the man who had captured you two was Brelen's son Gavin who swore his revenge when he saw his father go over the cliff." Elladan finished quietly. "Ada should still be out there looking for us as well, his plan was to head the men off and recapture you two. But that obviously didn't work out."

The brothers sat in silence for a moment before Elrohir spoke. "Elladan, why did you not tell us of this before?"

Elladan sighed. "I'm sorry, _muindor-nin_." Elladan said quietly. "But it slipped my mind caring for Estel after his beating. I didn't even think of it until you said something, Elrohir."

Elladan looked truly sorry, like this whole mess was his fault and Aragorn's heart went out to him. But something was bothering him.

"Elladan, does Ada know you went after us?" Aragorn asked cautiously. Elladan fidgeted.

"Not exactly…" But Elladan didn't finish as the brothers heard the click of the bolt on their cell door being pulled away and turned towards the door.

They expected their captor to walk through the door, but instead a small man shuffled through and looked at them with a frightened expression.

"My m-master t-told me t-to tell y-you that he will b-be down l-later." He stammered almost incoherently before practically running out of the room in fear.

"Great." Elrohir said sarcastically. "Something to look forward to." But Aragorn and Elladan didn't say anything as they each contemplated what that meant and why the servant was so scared.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elrond marched across the empty plains, already missing the soothing sound of wind through the trees. He was starting to worry that he hadn't seen any signs of the men who had taken Elrohir and Aragorn, when he came across fresh tracks heading off to his left.

He knew that these tracks had to belong to the men, but apparently his information on the whereabouts of Gavin was wrong.

_//"Well at least I found their tracks."//_ he thought grimly. That would explain why he hadn't run into them yet, anyway. But now he had to find them.

He turned left and walked at a brisker, faster pace, following the trail of footprints and horse hooves. His simply miscalculation of where Gavin was though, could be costly. He now had no idea how far ahead the men truly were or whether he was too late already.

_//"Don't think like that."//_ he thought sternly. _//"Nothing is going to happen to them."//_ And keeping that thought always in the front of his mind he continued on.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elrond walked for what seemed like hours until he finally found what he was looking for, and dreading at the same time. He crested the last hill and saw a black fortress ahead of him and the men who took his sons already at the door.

He watched from a distance as Gavin, although older than he remembered, walked out of the fortress and had his guards drag his sons inside. He couldn't see who else they had captured, but he could pick out Elrohir and Aragorn among them, although Elrohir seemed to get shuffled around a lot.

Elrond sighed and sank down to the ground in defeat. He had failed his sons and now he would have to find some way to save them before it was too late. But he didn't know how he was going to do that.

"_Telin guindor-nin. Gwestan._ I'm coming my sons. I promise." Elrond whispered to the wind, hoping that he could fulfill that promise before it was too late.


	11. Part 11

PART 11

Gavin sat in his office and looked out of the window, a smug smile playing across his cruel features. When Dolar had first come to him and told him that Manet and his men had only managed to capture one of the elf brothers he was furious. And the fact that they had caught a human instead… but now everything was alright. The other brother was stupid enough to get caught apparently and now he had three prisoners instead of just the two he had wanted.

But he wondered about the human. There was something about him that he did not understand, something that just didn't seem right. Manet had said that the he was the elves' brother, but that confused him even more. How could the human be their brother? It didn't make any sense, and Manet was no help to him.

He was no more than a fun challenge, a puzzle that he could crack. And humans were so much fun to torture because they only lasted so long, but they tried to be brave past that point. Although it never worked, it was fun to listen to them try.

His thoughts on the human were interrupted by a loud knock on the door. He motioned for the men standing by to open it and turned to see one of his servants, he had no idea what the man's name was, bow himself into the room. About the only nice thing he could say about his servants was that they knew when to bow and to keep their eyes averted and all that formal, master-servant crap.

"What is it?" he asked, sounding annoyed. One thing his father had managed to drill into him was that you never let the servants or prisoners know that you were expecting them, make them feel like a nuisance.

The servant fidgeted slightly, but kept his gaze averted. "I gave the prisoners your message, master."

"And?" Gavin turned towards the servant and raised an eyebrow in expectance. He had hoped that the elves, if not the human, would have asked about him or questioned their captivity.

"M-master?" the servant stammered questioningly. Gavin scowled and walked over to the servant and slapped him across the face, sending him sprawling onto the floor.

"Did they say anything?!" he yelled at the servant who was still lying on the floor, a look of intense fear on his face. "Did they ask you anything?!"

"I d-don't kn-know, m-master." he stammered quietly. "I l-left af-after I d-delivered the m-message l-like you t-told me t-to, m-master."

Gavin grabbed the servant by the collar and pinned him against a wall. The guards on either side of the door tensed on their weapons but did not move to draw them. "Don't blame me for your incompetence!" he screamed through clenched teeth. "I specifically told you to stay outside the door and listen to them talking, or wait until they made a reply!"

The servant could only cower in fear in Gavin's grip and Gavin gave him a cruel smile before dropping him in a cowering heap on the floor.

"I grow tired of your inability to complete my demands." he circled the servant slowly, hands clasped behind his back in a nonchalant manner. The servant shook his head slowly in fear.

"I'm sorry, m-master. P-please don't hurt me! I can d-do better, I p-promise!" the man was nearly crying now with the force of his pleas and he bowed low to the ground.

"You know, I've been waiting for someone to test my new inventions on." the servant's eyes went wide with fear and he shook his slowly, mouthing no over and over again. "You'll do just fine."

XXXXXXXXXX

Elrohir awoke with a yawn and looked over at his brothers who were still sleeping next to him. Elladan was sleeping soundly, but Aragorn was not and it worried Elrohir. He had awoken periodically during the night and had noticed Aragorn tossing and turning in the corner.

Suddenly Aragorn started thrashing madly, whimpering as if he was in great pain. "No, no, no…" Aragorn murmured quietly in elvish. Elrohir moved quickly over to his younger brother, trying not to jostle Elladan as he did so, and pulled Aragorn protectively onto his lap.

"_Edlosto, muindor-nin_. Wake up my brother." he whispered soothingly, keeping Aragorn from hurting himself against the wall.

Aragorn jerked awake at the sound of his brother's voice and sat up with a gasp. Elrohir laid a hand protectively on Aragorn's shoulder and gently pulled him back down next to him.

"Calm down, Estel." Elrohir whispered soothingly. Aragorn looked around him for a second like he was seeing it for the first time before looking back at Elrohir.

"I dreamed we were back at the clearing and I was watching you and Elladan being beaten." he said softly in Elvish. "I couldn't do anything to help you and it was tearing me up inside." Elrohir sighed and looked over at Elladan who was still sleeping soundly.

"It was just a dream Estel." Elrohir whispered back in Elvish. "There's no reason to worry." But Aragorn only shook his head and sighed.

"How do you know that?" he asked accusingly, his voice raising as his anger grew. "How do you know that tomorrow we won't all be taken to some room to be interrogated or Valar knows what and I'll have to watch you two being beaten senseless? Huh? How do you know?"

"Stop yelling Estel." Elrohir said calmly as Elladan stirred awake and sat up looking at his brothers. "Nothing is going to happen, and if it does we deal with it. I watched you being beaten twice already remember. How do you think I would feel if I had to watch you being beaten again?" Aragorn dropped his head and nodded.

"You're right Elrohir, I'm sorry." Aragorn said quietly in elvish as he brought his knees up to his chest, resting his head on them in a casual manner.

"Did I miss something?" Elladan asked questioningly as Elrohir and Aragorn settled back down to sleep. The brothers laughed quietly to themselves and Elrohir shook his head.

"It's nothing, Elladan." Elrohir said quietly as sleep began to claim him again. Elladan shrugged and fell asleep as well. Aragorn however did not fall asleep so quickly. He lay awake for a moment more thinking about what Elrohir had said. Although he knew Elrohir was right, he just couldn't stop thinking about his dream.

"I won't watch you getting hurt, _muindor-nin_." Aragorn said quietly before sleep finally claimed him once more.


	12. Part 12

PART 12

Elrond made camp a safe distance away from the fortress, so he wouldn't be detected, and sat plotting the best way to get inside. But nothing was coming to mind. Oh he had thought of many ways of getting inside, but all of them involved him getting captured first which was not an option.

He got up quickly and began pacing, furious with himself for not being able to rescue his own sons. He had gone through battle after battle in his lifetime, but he had always had others to help him. Now he was alone and he had no idea how to get inside the fortress without being captured.

_//"Well…"//_ he thought with a sigh as he sat back down again. _//"I could always just try to sneak in through a window or something."//_ He knew that was probably suicide, but he didn't know what else to do. He couldn't storm the fortress and he couldn't let Gavin catch him either since all of his anger was directed at the elf lord to begin with.

With his mind made up that that was what he was going to do he began to ponder how exactly to do it. He did that until the sun came up over the hills and lit up the world around him.

"Stay safe, _ion-nin._" Elrond said quietly as he prepared to set off for the fortress yet again.

XXXXXXXXXX

The brothers were still asleep when the door to their cell was opened almost without a sound. None of them awoke or had any idea that someone had come in, the only movement from their corner was Elrohir turning over and laying a hand unconsciously across Aragorn's body.

Gavin nodded to a guard and the man entered the cell, keeping the door open so he wouldn't a make a sound leaving. Gavin pointed to the corner and the guard quickly but quietly moved Elrohir's arm from Aragorn's body and put a drugged cloth over Aragorn's face before he could make a sound.

The guard threw him quietly over his shoulder and walked quickly out of the cell after Gavin, closing the door just as silently so the twins wouldn't hear it. And so Elrohir and Elladan slept on, unaware of their brother's disappearance.

XXXXXXXXXX

Aragorn awoke with a moan and opened his eyes. He had a massive headache like he had been drugged or hit over the head or something and it was pounding right behind his eyes.

He looked around for Elrohir and Elladan, but they were no where to be found. He tried to get up from where he was sitting, but his hands were shackled to the ceiling above his head and when he moved a sharp pain radiated down into his shoulders. He realized he was in the center of the room and he felt a shiver of fear radiate across his body at the thought of what that meant.

Suddenly the door opened and Gavin walked in with two guards. A cruel smile played across his face and his eyes were just as dead and black as when Aragorn first met him. Aragorn stared back defiantly.

"So you are the human that idiot Manet captured with the elves, hmm?" Gavin asked the smile still on his face. It was starting to make Aragorn uneasy, but he didn't say anything and he didn't let his discomfort show.

"I'll take that as a yes." Gavin said casually, beginning to walk around Aragorn which only caused the ranger to become even more ill at ease. "But you see… I've got a problem. I've only got Manet's word that you are the elves' _brother_." He spat out the last word as if he was saying something filthy.

He circled back around to the front of the ranger and knelt down so he was looking directly into Aragorn's eyes. Gavin's eyes were even worse up close, black and evil with no sign of light or goodness in them anywhere.

"You see my dilemma." he continued just as casually. "I have no use for you unless you really are who you say you are. But I have a feeling there's more to it than you are telling me." Aragorn tried not to let anything show in his eyes. He knew Gavin was right, but no one except the elves of Rivendell knew who he really was. And he wasn't about to let Gavin know his secrete.

"I'm not telling you anything." Aragorn said defiantly, a hint of malice in his eyes. Gavin smiled and stood up.

"You will… ranger." he smiled at the surprised look on Aragorn's face. "Yes I know you are a ranger, what else could you be with that outfit? But that is the extent of my knowledge."

He nodded to a guard standing behind him and the man walked over to a crank that was connected to some chains. Aragorn didn't have time to wonder what it was for as the chains he was connected to started to shorten and pull him up. Pain shot through his shoulders before he got his feet under him and he eased the pressure on his arms.

When Aragorn was practically hanging from the ceiling except for his toes brushing the ground, the guard stopped and walked back over to stand behind Gavin.

"Now…" Gavin continued, clasping his hands behind his back. "Let's start with an easy question. What is your name?" Aragorn didn't say anything and Manet nodded to another guard who came forward and punched Aragorn in the face, snapping his head back sharply.

Aragorn's head reeled from the blow and he felt blood in his mouth but he still didn't say anything. Gavin's smile faded and he motioned to two other guards who came forward and positioned themselves around Aragorn. Aragorn's heart did a little flutter of fear, but he kept his face clear of any emotion except hatred for Gavin.

"Now… we're going to try this again." Gavin said with a dark look on his face. "What is your name?" Aragorn still didn't say anything and Gavin nodded to the three guards standing around Aragorn and they began to beat him mercilessly.

They were positioned so there was one on either side angled towards the front and one at his back. No matter how much he struggled to get away they were always there. Aragorn's head was reeling from the repeated blows and his vision wavered. He was quickly losing strength and he sagged in his bonds.

Gavin noticed the change and held up a hand for the guards to stop. They immediately back off, somewhat reluctantly Aragorn thought groggily. He was quickly losing consciousness and Gavin probably knew that. He stood in front of the bloody form of Aragorn and gave him a dark look.

"Will you talk now? Or shall I have them continue?" he asked menacingly. He had never had anyone last as long as the ranger had and it frustrated him. But Aragorn didn't answer and Gavin turned nodded to the guards who began beating Aragorn again. But Aragorn was so far gone he barely felt the blows. And then he was gone, spiraling into the darkness of unconsciousness.

Gavin held up a hand for the guards to stop and they unchained the unconscious form of Aragorn before dragging him forcefully out of the room and down the hallway.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elrohir was the first to awaken and he yawned before looking over at Elladan who was still asleep. Elrohir had to smile at how peaceful he looked, but his smile quickly faded as he noticed that Aragorn was not in the room.

His heart felt like it had stopped in his chest and Elrohir quickly woke up his twin. Elladan yawned and rubbed his eyes. He looked groggily at his twin and sat up in panic when he saw the look on Elrohir's face.

"What is it, _muindor-nin_?" Elladan asked in a panic, grabbing his brother's shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.

"Estel is missing, Elladan." Elrohir said in a panic. Elladan felt his own heart stop and he looked quickly around the room. His twin was right. Estel was nowhere to be found.

"But how did it happen? We were with him the entire time." Elladan said also beginning to panic. He didn't even want to think about what Gavin would do to the ranger.

"I don't know. But I'm worried." Elrohir said beginning to get over the initial shock of his brother's disappearance.

"I am too, Elrohir." Elladan said sitting back down on the hay with his back against the wall. "But we can't do anything about it in this cell." Elrohir nodded and joined his brother against the wall.

Suddenly the door to their cell was yanked open and Aragorn was thrown roughly in. The door slammed shut just as quickly and the twins rushed to their younger brother's unmoving body.

Elladan gingerly turned him over onto his back and gasped as he saw what a bloody mess his brother truly was. He heard Elrohir gasp also form behind him and together they gently moved Aragorn over to the straw. Elrohir checked for a pulse and sighed with relief when he found it going strong.

"He is merely unconscious, Elladan." Elrohir said with a sigh as he sat back for a moment, tears were threatening to come to his eyes but he choked them back and looked at his brother again. "This is all my fault."

"What are you talking about Elrohir?" Elladan asked as he began checking for broken bones. He swore under his breath as he removed his younger brother's bloody tunic and saw the bruises already beginning to cover his torso.

"I should have watched him through the night, made sure nothing happened to him." he said as he moved closer to Elladan to begin checking for cuts or lacerations.

Elladan sat up and looked at his twin. "This was not your fault Elrohir." he said with conviction. "If I can't blame myself for your capture, then you can't blame yourself for this."

Elrohir shook his head. "This is the third time already that I've had to clean his wounds because he's been beaten by our captors. It's just too much."

Elladan sighed. There was nothing he could do for his twin until Aragorn woke up so he continued to check for broken ribs. Luckily they were only bruised, not broken. But he was a mess of bruises and lacerations and his wrists were bleeding where it looked like he was tied to something.

"We don't have anything to clean these with." Elrohir said with a sigh as he finished checking for lacerations on Aragorn's head. "We'll need to get water or something otherwise these will get infected." Elladan nodded in agreement and sat back with his brother to wait for Aragorn to wake up.


	13. Part 13

PART 13

Gavin paced his study, furious that the ranger hadn't answered him. He wasn't used to having his prisoners last even one session without answering him, which meant that he would have to be harder on the ranger and the elves if he wanted them to talk.

He stopped pacing as a knock sounded at his door and a guard entered with a salute. Gavin nodded and sat down behind his desk as the man walked forward and stood in front of him, not even looking at the empty seat.

"Sir, the ranger has been returned to his cell." Gavin nodded and the man continued. "The elves were awake and it looked like they were taking care of him when I left, sir."

"Good. Make sure their cell is secure and get them some water and bandages. We don't want the ranger dieing on us too soon." Gavin's face split into a cruel smile as he said this and the guard gave a quick salute before exiting the study.

Gavin heard the door close with a bang but he barely registered the noise as he went back to thinking about the ranger. He knew Manet had gotten him to talk, and he was furious with himself for not asking the man before he left. But he though he would be able to take care of it easily.

"Slave!" Gavin called out suddenly to a man standing by the door. The man headed the call and bowed down low to Gavin.

"Yes my lord?" he asked, making sure to keep his eyes averted.

"Has Manet left yet?" Gavin asked without looking at the man. The servant stole a quick glance up at his master before quickly averting his eyes again.

"I do not know my lord." he answered truthfully. Gavin rounded on the slave.

"What do you mean you do not know?" he yelled at the man. The slave tried not to flinch at the anger in Gavin's voice and he quickly gave Gavin a small bow.

"I'm sorry my lord." he said quickly, unconsciously taking a small step back. "What I meant was that I will go check for you my lord." Gavin gave a servant a small smile.

"Good." he said, sitting back down in his chair. "But be quick about it. And if they are still here send Manet up immediately to see me." The man bowed low to Gavin before quickly exiting the study.

Gavin turned back to the wide windows of his study and continued contemplating the best way to get the ranger to talk.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elrond peered over the edge of the valley that held the dark fortress, searching for signs of sentries or guards. But the area was clear; there weren't even animal signs in the dark and foreboding place.

He noticed that the men who had captured his sons were getting ready to leave and a spark of hatred welled up inside him for what they did. But he knew he couldn't really blame them since they were only doing what Gavin had asked of them.

He watched as a servant came quickly out of the fortress and spoke to a man on horseback that was in the front of the group. Elrond assumed he was the leader as he watched him signal to the others to wait. He followed the servant back inside and then all was quiet once more.

Elrond still didn't really have a plan for getting inside to rescue Elrohir and Aragorn and he suddenly wished Elladan was with him just so he had some company and another mind to help him think. But he knew in his heart that Elladan was not ready to come with him and he hoped that his son had headed his advice and stayed behind in Rivendell, although he doubted that greatly. But Elladan hadn't caught up with him yet so he assumed the younger elf was alright.

He realized his mind had been wandering and quickly focused on the men again. He counted at least thirty, if not more. He knew that it was foolhardy to try and get inside with that many men standing outside so he opted to wait and bide his time until they left.

"_Pân natha __mae, ion-nin_." he said quietly to the air around him. "It will be alright my sons."

XXXXXXXXXX

Elrohir gently rocked Aragorn's still unconscious body, whispering encouraging words in elvish. He didn't know if what he was whispering was more for Aragorn's sake or theirs, but it was helping him and he could see Elladan relaxing a little as he listened to his twin.

Suddenly a soft moan escaped Aragorn's lips and Elladan moved closer to his brother as Elrohir tried to calm him down.

"_Sîdh__Estel, pân natha __mae_Peace Estel, it will be alright." Elrohir whispered quietly in Aragorn's ear. "_Im__sí, Estel_. I am here." Aragorn slowly opened his eyes as he listened to his brother's soothing voice. His body was throbbing in pain and it hurt to even breathe.

"Elrohir?" Aragorn asked quietly as his vision finally focused on the elf above him.

"Yes Estel." he said with a slight smile as he helped Aragorn into a sitting position. "And Elladan as well." Aragorn looked over at his older brother and gave him a smile.

"Ugh. I feel like a horde of orcs used me for training purposes." he said with a soft chuckle that turned into a hiss of pain.

"Well you did take quite a beating Estel." Elladan said as he moved to sit on the other side of his younger brother, wishing he could remove the ranger's pain.

"Yes, I know." Aragorn said with a grimace. "And how is it you did not notice I was gone? I thought elves had superior senses." His tone was jesting and his brothers knew it, but Aragorn's soft moan of pain wiped away any traces of merriment they might have had.

"We truly are sorry Estel." Elrohir said quietly as he scooted closer to his brother. "The water they gave us last night must have been drugged because I don't remember a thing." Elladan nodded in agreement and Aragorn sighed.

"If they are drugging our water we will have to be careful." he said quietly, not wanting the guards to hear them. He switched quickly over into elvish.

"So do we have an escape plan yet?" he asked seriously. He really didn't want to undergo any more beatings, he already felt like he might have broken a few bones. Or at least bruised them pretty badly.

"I'm afraid not, _muindor-nin_." Elladan said quietly in elvish. "The cell is securely locked and if they are drugging us every night in our water, well…" He did not have to finish his sentence. The brothers knew exactly what he meant, and they also knew that their only hope now lay in Elrond rescuing them or a miracle.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gavin looked up again as his study door was opened and the servant he had sent out earlier came shuffling in with Manet in tow. They both gave low, respectful bows before the servant left and Manet took a seat in front of Gavin.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked, a questioning tone in his voice. He had been hoping to leave the valley as quickly as possible; he didn't like it there any more than his men did.

"Yes." Gavin said, getting up and standing in front of a window. "I tried interrogating the human this morning, but he wouldn't talk. I want to know how you did it."

Manet seemed puzzled for a moment. "My lord?"

Gavin turned towards the man and sighed. "How did you get him to tell you he was the elves' brother and all that?"

"Oh!" Manet said embarrassed. "I tortured him in front of the elves and threatened to kill him. They spilled everything then. It was actually easier than I thought it would."

Gavin had to smile. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that? Thank you Manet, you may leave now with your men." Manet nodded and left the room quickly, happy to be leaving the darkness of the valley for a while.


	14. Part 14

I've decided to hold off on the brothers for this chapter and instead focus on Elrond and his plan for rescuing them… but don't worry! I'll let you know how Aragorn is doing in the next chapter! 

PART 14

It occurred to Manet as he was leaving that he should have asked why Gavin asked him about his torture methods, considering that Gavin was none for his torture techniques. But he let it go and shouted to his men to get moving.

The men quickly followed his orders, wanting to be as far away from the evil of the valley as possible. Manet didn't know why the valley affected people like it did, or even Gavin's imposing structure. It was as if a dark cloud of fear hung over everything. It gave Manet the distinct feeling of being touched by something evil, something that had no good or light in it, and it made him shiver.

But he did not dwell on these fears for long as his second in command caught up to him and paced his horse with his.

"What did Gavin want?" Dolar asked quietly so only Manet could hear, not sure if the men should know. But his fears were unfounded as the rest of the company was too far behind to hear the two men talking.

"Just to ask how I found out the information I did about the ranger." he said with a shrug. Dolar looked at Manet for a moment, as if wondering if Manet was actually telling the truth.

"That's all?" Dolar asked incredulously. He had heard stories of what Gavin did to people who did not complete jobs or messed up a job, and he had been worried that his boss had been threatened.

"That's all." Manet said, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he watched the incredulous look on Dolar's face. "Did you think something bad had happened?"

"Well I have heard the stories…"

"We all have Dolar, but that does not mean they are true."

"I know boss but still… the servant coming out so suddenly like that startled everyone, especially the younger men."

"Well you can tell them that they have nothing to fear. I am fine." Dolar nodded and gave his boss a small smile before turning his horse around and riding back to tell the men the good news.

Manet shook his head and had to chuckle softly at his men's stead-fast loyalty. If something had happened he had no doubt that his men would have stormed the fortress with no thought as to their own safety.

Manet turned back to watch the men behind him as they exited the valley. He knew their hearts were lighter just as his was now that they were out of the darkness of the valley. His face broke into a small smile at their obvious change of mood before turning back to guiding his horse along the path back home.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elrond sat quietly behind a boulder and watched as the group of men came up out of the valley with the leader in the front. He had thought about his plan for awhile and had finally come up with a suitable plan that he hoped would work.

He kept his eyes trained on the leader and notched an arrow to his bow. He aimed for the man's leg, hoping to wound him only so as to cause enough confusion that he could slip in unnoticed.

He let the arrow fly and quickly notched another as the arrow pierced Manet's leg. He let arrow after fly into quickly growing chaos, not knowing if he was killing people or merely wounding them in all the confusion and dust that the horses were stirring up.

When he was finally out of arrows he jumped up quickly and rushed headlong into the melee, drawing his sword and slashing anyone in his path. By this point he didn't care who he hit, all the men were responsible for his sons' capture anyway and the only one he wanted was the leader.

He finally found the man bleeding next to his horse being protected by his second in command. An arrow jutted from his thigh and blood was flowing freely from the open wound. Dolar held his sword high in case of attack and turned towards the elf lord as Elrond approached, sword drawn.

"Stay away from him." Dolar said threateningly, holding his sword higher and tightening his grip on the pommel. Elrond edged closer, trying to get around the human without too much conflict.

"I do not want to hurt you, I only want him." Elrond said menacingly as he and Dolar began circling each other.

"You can't have him." Dolar said with a growl. With a cry he attacked Elrond, thrusting his sword down towards the elf's heart. Elrond blocked the blow and quickly went on the offensive, driving the human back with his superior speed.

Elrond had to give the human credit; he was keeping his own against the elf lord, but he could also see that the man was beginning to tire as Elrond upped his offensive.

Suddenly Dolar back up too far and tripped over the body of one of his comrades. Elrond could see the shaft of his arrow poking out of the man's neck but had no time to pity him as he held his sword against Dolar's neck, kicking his sword out of his reach.

"I will kill you, make no mistake about that." Elrond said threateningly, holding his sword tighter against the man's neck.

Dolar quieted and Elrond dropped his sword, making sure it was sheathed before heading back over to Manet who was almost unconscious from loss of blood.

Suddenly there was a sharp cry from behind him and without thinking he whipped out a hunting knife and threw it straight into Dolar's heart. Elrond watched as Manet cried out to his second in command, but Elrond had no time to waste as the rest of the men were slowly starting to realize that the threat was over and would soon notice the elf.

Elrond used the pommel of his sword to knock Manet out before throwing him over his shoulder and running quickly for the outcropping of rocks he had hidden behind earlier. He knew it would be safe from prying eyes and predators and he would be able to get the information he needed without a disturbance.

He set the unconscious man down on the floor of one of the caverns and bound his hands and feet before turning to the task of mending his injured leg. As much as Elrond loathed the man, his healer's instinct would not let him leave the arrow in and he quickly pulled it out and bound it up before lighting a fire in the back of the cavern so no one who happened by would see it.

He looked over at the still form of the human and glowered at him. If he had his way they would all be dead for what they did to his sons, but it was not in his nature and it was not right. They did not know what Gavin in store for them.

He started slightly as Manet moaned in the corner. He went over to the man and sat him up, giving him a drink of water before going back over to the fire.

"What do you want with me?" Manet asked as he watched his captor near the fire.

"I want information." Elrond said without looking at the human. Manet struggled to catch a glimpse of his captor, but Elrond made sure to stay in the shadows.

"Information on what?" Manet asked innocently. "What ever it is I had nothing to do with it so you should just let me go now before my men find me and kill you."

Elrond chuckled. "They won't find you. We are hidden to well. As for the information I want, I know you are involved and it concerns the whereabouts of my sons." He shifted into the light as he said this and Manet gasped.

"You're an elf!" he stammered in surprise.

"How perceptive of you." Elrond said, glowering at the human before turning back to the fire and slinking into the shadows.

"But how did you find us?" Manet asked, not believing his bad luck. "How did you know where to look?" Elrond laughed.

"It was not that hard. Besides, I've been keeping tabs on Gavin for years." he said matter-of-factly as he took some dried meat out of his pack and took a bite.

Manet didn't say anything more and Elrond was content to ignore the human, only making sure that he did not try to escape. But he was bound too well and his leg was throbbing in pain from where the arrow had pierced so he didn't try to escape.

"You didn't have to kill him you know." Manet said quietly a couple of hours later. Elrond sat up from where he had been resting and looked at the human.

"It would seem I killed a lot of people today." he said with no emotion.

"My second in command, his name was Dolar." Manet said the anger showing in his voice. "He didn't deserve to die."

"I wasn't going to kill him." Elrond said laying back down again.

"Then why did you?" Manet screamed, all the anger coming out in his voice as he lashed out at the only person near at hand.

"Because he was trying to kill me." Elrond stated in a tone that clearly said that the matter was closed. Manet got the drift and turned away from the elf, trying to escape into sleep.


	15. Part 15

Just a warning for next chapter, it's going to be the first big torture scene so if any of you are opposed to that sort of thing I would advise you don't read it. Although it will probably be the worst chapter of this story (I'm talking writing-wise and realistic-wise, not content), I'm still warning you so I don't have people telling me that they were terrified out of their skulls. I'll post a warning next chapter as well… but for now enjoy this chapter!!!

PART 15

Elrohir looked over at the sleeping form of Aragorn and sighed. Even in sleep the ranger's face held so much pain and it burned a hole in Elrohir's heart. He had watched the ranger undergo two beatings already and had awoken to his unconscious body being thrown into their cell; it was not something he was going to forget easily.

Aragorn moaned softly in his sleep as he rolled onto his back to relieve the pressure on his bruised ribs. The guards had given them herbs and bandages for Aragorn's bruises and cuts and now his ribs were securely wrapped which didn't do much to dull the pain. What he really needed was a painkiller of some kind, but that was not something the guards were going to give them.

Elrohir shifted closer to his younger brother and moved his head onto his lap to try and ease the pain a little. Aragorn moaned softly at the movement but did not awaken. Elrohir stroked his hair idly, wishing he could escape into sleep as well, but he was determined to stay awake and protect his brother from receiving another beating. The fact that he hadn't fallen asleep yet proved that they hadn't drugged the water that night, and it worried him slightly.

"What are you doing Elrohir?" Elladan asked quietly as he shifted into a sitting position. He watched as his brother continued to stroke Aragorn's hair absentmindedly, a small smile forming on Aragorn's otherwise pain-filled face.

"I can't let him be taken again Elladan." Elrohir said just as quietly so as not to wake Aragorn. "I can't watch his battered body being tossed around like a sack of potatoes again. I just can't… it breaks my heart to see him like this."

Elladan thought he saw tears appear in his brother's eyes as he continued to watch over Aragorn's sleeping form, but they were gone almost as quickly as they had come.

"We will get out of this, _muindor-nin. __Ú-__caro__leithiach__estel-lín_Do not let go of your hope." Elladan said quietly, laying a hand gently on his brother's shoulder. Elrohir smiled at his twin.

"I know. _Hannon le, muindor-nin._" Elrohir said with a smile. Elladan gave his twin a similar smile and settled back down to sleep, but Elrohir remained awake. He knew Elladan was right, and he still had hope that they would escape, but what his brother did not understand is that he had been through too much in too short of time.

He had watched Aragorn beaten, seen him thrown at his feet a bloody mess, seen Elladan tied up and bloody, watched Aragorn being taken away unconscious by men because he was too far away to help him, seen the fear in his brother's eyes when Manet had mentioned him getting a beating, watched the pain in his brother's face that even sleep could not help him with, and worse of all he had been helpless for all of it.

This time tears actually did appear in his eyes and he let them fall freely. He would do everything in his power to save his brother from being beaten again, but he didn't know if it would be enough and it tore him up inside.

Elladan watched his brother's inner battle, feigning sleep so Elrohir wouldn't know. There was nothing he could do for his brother and he knew it. He sighed inside and turned over; closing his eyes against the picture of his brother crying over Aragorn's sleeping body.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gavin was still staring out his study window an hour later when a guard rushed in unannounced. Gavin turned a cold stare on the panting man; he couldn't stand having people barge in on him.

"Sorry for the disturbance my lord." the guard said when he had caught his breath. "But we have a situation out front."

Gavin growled. "What kind of situation?"

"Manet's men have returned." he said.

"Why?" Gavin asked suspiciously.

"Apparently they were attacked just outside of the valley." he said, pausing for a moment as if wondering if he should continue. "But there's something else…"

Gavin waited for the guard to continue, but he wasn't very forthcoming. "Yes?"

"Manet is missing. The men say he was taken by the elf that attacked them. Dolar is also dead." the guard said, his voice lowering a notch.

"What do you mean they were attacked by an elf?!" Gavin screamed, causing the servants by the door to cower in fear. He stood up quickly, knocking his chair over backwards in his haste.

He stormed out of his office with the guard on his heels and headed out the front door to where Manet's men stood around the dead.

"Who is in charge at the moment?" he asked menacingly. He had a suspicion that he knew who the elf was, but he had to make sure. Unfortunately no one stepped forward. "Fine. Who saw the attack?"

The men looked at one another nervously before one of them stepped forward. "I did sir." he said, a slight quiver in his voice.

"Well?" Gavin asked impatiently, folding his arms over his chest. "What happened? What did the elf look like?"

The man paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "It all happened so fast." he admitted quietly. "Manet was shot in the leg and then suddenly we were bombarded with arrows. We were all in a state of panic to be honest, but I looked over to where Manet had fallen and watched as the elf killed Dolar and then knocked out Manet and carried him away."

"But what did the elf look like?" Gavin prodded impatiently.

"Like any other elf sir." the man said somewhat surprised. "He had long brown hair and a stern look on his face and pointed ears."

Gavin sighed. The man had just described almost every elf in middle earth. He motioned to a guard behind him and walked away as his guards continued to kill all the survivors.

The captain of the guard fell in beside Gavin as he entered the fortress. "Sir? The room is ready."

Gavin nodded. "Good. Get the prisoners in there as quick as you can, do not be gentle, but do not kill them either. I will meet you there momentarily." The guard nodded and gave Gavin a quick solute before running off to do as he had said.

Gavin sighed and changed course so he was headed towards the room the guard had spoken to him about. At least now he would get some answers.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elrohir looked up quickly as the bolt on their door was slid away with the unmistakable sound of metal grinding against metal. He looked over at Elladan who had heard the sound as well and unconsciously pulled the still sleeping form of Aragorn closer to his body.

"Wha…?" Aragorn murmured softly as the noises from outside the door reached his ears. Elrohir shushed him as the door was thrown open and a couple of guards entered the room, each holding a pair of manacles.

"Get up." said a man that Aragorn immediately recognized as the captain of the guard. "The master wants to see all of you right now."

With a brief nod to his men they began moving forward slowly, while another closed the door tightly from the outside and locked it so they couldn't escape.

Aragorn was now fully awake and scrambled back against the wall as the pain of his previous tortures flooded back to him. Elrohir and Elladan stepped protectively in front of him. The captain laughed.

"All of you are going, and we have been given permission to use force if necessary." he brandished a menacing looking club at them and Elrohir noticed for the first time that all the guards carried one. They now each grabbed theirs and held it threateningly over their heads.

"_Avo faro a thrastad, Elrohir._ Don't go looking for trouble." Elladan murmured quietly in elvish as he felt him tense next to him. "The time will come for us to escape, but it is not right now."

Elrohir sighed. He knew his brother was right, but he had made himself a promise. He wasn't about to let Aragorn be taken without fight.

The guards seemed to sense his reluctance and quickly focused their attention on him, staying wary of Elladan and Aragorn at the same time.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." the captain growled, tightening his hold on the club. Elladan looked at his brother and realized what he was about to do a moment too late.

"Don't…!" he whispered fervently, but I he didn't finish as Elrohir suddenly jumped the nearest guard and wrestled him to the ground.

Elladan pulled Aragorn back so the guards wouldn't take their frustrations out on them and watched helplessly as the guards tried to beat Elrohir off the guard. In any other situation Elladan would have used the opportunity to try and escape, but he knew there was no escaping from this one. The door was locked from the outside and they were vastly outnumbered, the odds just weren't in their favor.

Suddenly Elrohir went limp and the guards stopped beating him, backing off for a moment and helping their comrade up. Aragorn had to look away as the memory of his dream came back to him and he realized it was coming true before his very eyes. Elrohir was bruised and bloodied from the repeated hits, but obviously alive as Aragorn could see his chest rising and falling.

"Get him in the manacles." the captain said pointing to the unconscious form of Elrohir. "We can't risk his waking up before we get there."

The guards nodded and while one got manacles on Elrohir, the rest circled Elladan and Aragorn. They had learned from watching what Elrohir had done and didn't want to risk it happening again.

One guard quickly grabbed Aragorn from behind and punched him in the side of the head a couple of times before another guard could put the manacles on. Aragorn's vision wavered and spots danced before his eyes. He was still recovering from his last beating and his body wasn't handling the blows very well.

Elladan watched as Aragorn passed out from the repeated blows and slumped to the floor of the cell. "Estel!" he cried out, trying desperately to get to his brother. At this point he no longer care about odds or survival, he just wanted to get to his brothers.

He was already manacled so the guards had and easier time than they would have had he had the full use of his arms and hands, but they still had difficulty restraining him and resorted to clubbing him instead.

When Elladan was unconscious as well the captain nodded to his men who quickly picked them up and carried them out of the room. They were all glad that they weren't being carried out unconscious, because they knew they would wake up worse off than they already were.


	16. Part 16

PART 16

Aragorn groaned softly as he slowly regained consciousness. He was really getting tired of being knocked out all the time and his head was throbbing from the blows he had taken. He suddenly realized that someone was talking next to him and he opened his eyes slowly to see who it was.

"Glad to see you're finally awake." Elladan said from off to his right. Aragorn looked over at his brother and frowned. Elladan was chained to the wall with his hands in a set of manacles set high over his head and a large collar-like ring around his neck that was also attached to the wall.

Aragorn looked and realized he was in the exact same position. He pulled on the manacles a couple of times, but they didn't budge. He looked off to his left and noticed that Elrohir was in the same position as he and Elladan, but the odd thing was that Elrohir was still unconscious.

Elladan saw his brother's look and sighed. "He took more blows than we did and hasn't regained consciousness yet. He doesn't look so good either." Aragorn nodded and tried one last time to pull the manacles out of the wall, but they held firm.

"How long do you think he'll be out?" Aragorn asked as he took another look at Elrohir. Elladan shook his head.

"I don't know Estel." he said truthfully. "He should be waking up soon though."

As if on cue Elrohir gave a low moan and looked up at his brothers. "How long was I out?"

Elladan attempted to shrug, but it didn't work with his arms over his head and the collar thing around his neck. "Not long. Aragorn only regained consciousness about two minutes ago." he said as Elrohir attempted to shift his position slightly. He had already realized that he was chained to the wall and knew that the manacles probably wouldn't budge too much.

"So what are we doing here?" Aragorn asked as silence settled over the brothers.

"I don't know Aragorn." Elrohir said truthfully as he looked around the room. "But what ever it is it can't be too good." He was talking about the various things hanging around the room. There were whips, sharp objects, knives, chains, and other assorted torture devices.

Suddenly, the bolt on the door slid open with a bang and the door was opened to reveal Gavin standing on the other side with his contingent of guards in tow. He walked inside and looked at the brothers, a malicious smile playing across his cruel features.

"Hello again." he said, walking around the room. The brothers merely glared at him and he laughed at their defiance. "You are quite the bunch aren't you? I think I'm going to have to introduce you to my boss soon; he's very interested in you, you know. But for now I have some questions I want answered."

He stopped walking for a moment and stood in the center of the room. He surveyed the brothers the way a butcher sizes up a piece of meat and it was quite unnerving, but the trio showed no emotion.

"Your ranger friend here wasn't any help to me last time." Gavin continued, clasping his hands behind his back in a nonchalant way. "I'm wondering if he's going to be more cooperative with you too watching. Or are you still going to be difficult?"

He began walking around the room again until he stood right in front of Aragorn. "You are quite the conundrum ranger. Why do these elves protect you? What are you hiding?" He stared Aragorn straight in the eye and Aragorn felt a shiver of fear run down his spine as he looked into Gavin's black, evil eyes.

But Aragorn didn't let anything show in his face and he didn't answer the man's questions. He didn't know who the man's boss was, but the fear and evil in the fortress was almost over whelming and hung like a dark cloud over everything. If that was any indication about who his boss was, he never wanted to meet him.

"No?" Gavin stood up and walked back to the center of the room, surveying the brothers again. "How to do it though? There are so many ways of getting information from people, but you are no ordinary person. And elves are even harder."

He walked over to a rack on the wall across from Aragorn and picked up a long, multi-tailed whip. Aragorn shuddered slightly as he saw the small barbed balls hanging from the end of each of the tails.

"Let's start off easy, shall we?" Gavin said casually as he circled in front of each of the brothers. "Who would like to go first? Hmmm?"

None of the brothers said anything as they stared at the menacing looking whip. None of them had seen anything like it and were not looking forward to getting acquainted with how it worked.

"No takers, huh?" Gavin said as he stood in the center of the room again. He put his boot on top of a short post the brothers hadn't noticed before in the center of the room. They all had a pretty good idea what it was for and it only increased their nerves.

Gavin nodded to one of the guards who walked over to Aragorn and began undoing his chains. Aragorn's heart began to race in his chest as the guard manhandled him to the center of the room. He tried in vain to free himself, but the guard was too strong. He could hear his brothers struggling against their own chains as he was forced to the ground and his hands were tied to the post in front of him.

"Leave him alone, Gavin!" Elrohir cried.

"Take one of us instead; he's not ready for another beating!" Elladan yelled at the same time.

Gavin laughed. "You don't have a say in this… unless you answer all of my questions. For any question you don't answer," he ran the tip of the whip across Aragorn's shoulder blades and watched as Aragorn unconsciously shivered from the contact. "I will whip him, and harder every time."

The elves merely glared at Gavin and he smiled as he walked around Aragorn, enjoying the sight of Aragorn shivering from the contact of the whip.

"Now." he began, stopping just behind Aragorn. "Who is this human to you?" Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other.

"Didn't Manet tell you?" Elrohir asked cautiously, this wasn't the type of question they were expecting. They had figured that Manet had told Gavin everything he knew already.

"Of course he told me what you told him." Gavin said, annoyed that the elves even had to ask. "But I don't believe him. So why don't you tell me the truth?"

"But that was the truth." Elladan said slowly. "He is our brother." Gavin frowned and brought the whip down across Aragorn's back. Aragorn arced under the intense pain of the nine tails racking across his back. It was ten times worse than anything he had ever felt before and it took all of his will power not to cry out.

"What are you doing?" Elrohir cried out. "You said you weren't going to whip him if we answered you!"

Gavin turned on him. "But you're not telling me the truth. It's not possible! How can it be possible?!"

"We didn't mean he is our brother by blood." Elladan said cautiously, hoping Gavin would listen. "We adopted him when he was little. His parents were killed by orcs and we found him in the woods and took him in."

Gavin looked to Elrohir as if to confirm this before bringing the whip down again across Aragorn's back. Aragorn whimpered and arced again as the pain in his back increased. He could feel the blood flowing down his back and he bit back the tears that threatened to come from the intensity of the pain.

"_Daro! Daro!_" Elrohir cried out as his brother's whimper reached his ears. Gavin rounded on the elf and nodded to a guard who punched him across the face, drawing blood and making his vision swim for a moment.

"Don't speak that disgusting language in my presence!" Gavin shouted as he brought the whip down across Aragorn's back again. Aragorn gasped for breath as the pain overwhelmed his senses. The tears began to come unbidden as Aragorn fought to catch his breath. His vision wavered for a moment and his only thought was that he hoped unconsciousness came soon. He had never felt such pain before in his life.

"Now." Gavin said as he regained his composure. "You are still lying to me. Why would the Lord of Rivendell adopt a nothing like him? Elves do not mix with humans and they do not adopt their children. Now tell me the truth."

Elladan sighed. "Why should we continue to talk to you if you will not believe us anyway? I'm sorry, Estel, it is the only way."

"What are you talking about?" Gavin said.

"_Ú-__caro__leithiach__estel-lín__Le ú-__erui_" Elladan shouted.

"_Sîdh_ _muindor-nín, pân natha __mae__!" _Elrohir shouted as he caught on to what his brother was saying.

"Why you insolent…" He turned on Aragorn in a fit of rage and brought the whip down over and over again until Aragorn couldn't take it any longer and he let out one long scream of pain before slumping forward unconscious.

Elrohir and Elladan turned their heads from their brother's mangled body, holding on to the thought that they had done the right thing.

"Now then." Gavin said as the guards began to untie Aragorn's body. "Who wants to go next?" Elrohir and Elladan merely glared at him as they watched their brother's body being tossed into the corner.


	17. Part 17

Sorry the break in updates… but November is NanoWrimo so I've been working on my novel everyday. The only reason I'm even able to update this now is because I wrote it in English when we had a sub…  So please enjoy and sorry for the shortness!!!

Part 17

Elrohir and Elladan stared stonily at Gavin, their hatred flaring out like fire and engulfing Gavin. But he didn't even seem to care; in fact he seemed to find the elves' stares amusing.

"We're not going to tell you anything." Elrohir said angrily from where he was being unchained.

Gavin just laughed as the elf was dragged to the center of the room where Aragorn had just been beaten and chained him to the post.

"You will find, elf, that I can be very persuasive in need be." Gavin said as he swung the now bloody whip in front of Elrohir's face menacingly.

"Leave him alone!" Elladan shouted in Elvish, struggling against his chains. One of the guards next to him punched him upside the head and Elladan felt blood at the corner of his mouth.

"_Daro muindor-nin_." Elrohir said pleadingly. "Don't do anything foolish."

Suddenly Gavin brought the whip down across Elrohir's back and he arched under the pain, surprise showing on his face. Gavin brought the whip down again and Elrohir heard his brother struggling in the background.

"I warned you." Gavin said as he brought the whip down harder against the elf's bare shoulders. "I warned you never to speak that foul tongue in my presence!" he brought the whip down across the elf's shoulders again for good measure before lowering the whip and setting it back down on the table where he had gotten it. The elves watched as Gavin opened an ancient-looking black chest and a wave of dread passed over them as he pulled out a black vial.

"Do you know what this is?" Gavin asked as he waved it in front of Elrohir's face. The elf recoiled involuntarily at the mere sight of the foul liquid and Gavin laughed. "I guess you do know what it is." He said as he waved it in front of Elladan's face as well.

"Where did you get that?" Elrohir asked stonily, trying not to let the fear show in his face. Gavin laughed.

"Are you scared, elf?" Gavin asked as he waved the bottle in front of his face again.

"No." Elladan answered just as stonily as his twin. "Just curious."

"Well if you really want to know…" Gavin said with a smile. "My boss should be the one to tell you."

"Then he must have told you that it won't have the desired affect on us." Elrohir said.

"No, it won't." Gavin agreed, a smile spreading across his face. "But morgul poison works very well on humans."

Elrohir felt his heart race in his chest and he couldn't speak for a moment. Elladan just looked angry and he stared at Gavin with fire in his eyes.

"You wouldn't dare." Elladan said icily.

"Would you like to test that theory?" Gavin asked as he walked over to the unconscious form of Aragorn. He uncapped the bottle and bent down next to one of the Ranger's more severe wounds.

"Stop!" Elrohir shouted desperately from where he was chained. "Please! We'll tell you anything just don't poison him!" Gavin smiled and he capped the bottle before setting it on the table.

"You promise to tell me anything and everything I want to know?" Gavin asked triumphantly. Elrohir dropped his head in defeat and nodded weakly.

"No Elrohir!" Elladan cried out in Elvish from where he was chained. "You must not tell him anything, not even for Estel's sake."

Elrohir picked his head up and stared at his brother with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry muindor-nin." He mouthed silently. "But I cannot watch him go through morgul poisoning as well as everything else." He dropped his head again as Gavin motioned for the guards to remove Elladan from the cell.

"No!" Elladan cried as he was dragged from the room. "No, no, no! Elrohir…!" and then the room was plunged into silence once more, with only the sound of Aragorn's heavy breathing from the corner breaking it.


	18. Part 18

PART 18

"Now..." Gavin said, standing triumphantly in front of Elrohir. "I want to know the truth. Who is this ranger to you?"

"My brother and I were telling the truth." Elrohir said quietly, looking up into Gavin's black eyes. "He is our brother. But as for why we would adopt him… you must understand my history. And I do not think you would."

"Try me." Gavin said, crossing his arms across his chest.

Elrohir sighed. "My father, Elrond, had a twin, Elros. They were considered among the half-elves because they were descended from both men and elves and therefore had the choice of having the fate of men or elves. Elros chose the fate of Men and was thus mortal. Elrond, on the other hand, chose the fate of elves and watched over his brother's descendants. That ranger is one of Elros' descendants."

Gavin looked at the elf for a moment as he finished his tale and sighed. The story made sense and explained a lot. "So you were telling the truth when you said that the ranger was your brother…" Gavin muttered almost to himself and Elrohir nodded, hoping that he would just send them back to their cell now. "But who is he?"

"What?" Elrohir asked, confusion clouding his face.

"Who is he?" Gavin said again, pointing at Aragorn's lifeless figure. "What is his name? Who were his parents? _Why is he so important?_"

"He is no one to everyone but us." Elrohir said slowly. "We call him Estel, although the rangers call him Strider. I do not know what his actual name was. As I told you before, we found him in the woods when we went to see his parents whom we had heard were in the area. They had been killed by orcs and he was lying next to their bodies. We had not heard that they had had a son so we never learned his name, he was a newborn when we found him."

"So why is he so important?" Gavin hissed angrily. "Why is my boss so interested in him?"

"It might help if I knew who your boss was." Elrohir said slowly. "Because I really do not know why anyone would be interested in Estel. He is merely a ranger, not even a leader or officer in their ranks and he does not leave the north too often nor come this far south except if the southern rangers need help."

"You are lying about something!" Gavin said the frustration showing on his face. "Everything you say makes perfect sense… but my boss cannot be wrong!"

"All men are wrong sometimes." Elrohir said slowly. "Maybe he wanted another ranger."

"No… he is no man and he makes no mistakes." Gavin said cryptically. "Nor does he tolerate them." He grabbed the vial of morgul poison from the table again and bent down next to Aragorn.

"What are you doing?!" Elrohir cried struggling against his chains. "I told you the truth!"

"But not all of it." Gavin said angrily. "And I have to have results. But do not worry… I have an antidote which I will give him when you tell me everything. You probably have about 5 days, give or take a few." He poured a drop of poison into one of Aragorn's wounds and Elrohir cried out as his brother arched against the pain that raced through his system even in unconsciousness.

Gavin stood up and replaced the now empty vial on the table, watching the look on Elrohir's face go from one of shock to one of fury.

"You told me he would not be poisoned if I told you the truth!" Elrohir cried accusingly.

"You should consider yourself lucky elf." Gavin spat turning back to Aragorn's still form. "I wasn't even going to keep him alive this long until my boss told me to find out everything I could on him. He seems to think that the ranger is important… although he does not know why yet."

"You were not looking for him when you captured us." Elrohir stated, casting a quick glance at Aragorn.

"No, I was not." Gavin nodded. "I only wanted you and your twin… and what happens? But that idiot Manet captures the ranger instead. But it isn't all bad… there's something important about this ranger, something you're not telling me. And I will find out if I have to kill him first!"

And with that he stormed out of the room, leaving the guards to drag the brothers back to their cell where Elladan was waiting for them impatiently.

Elladan looked up as his brothers were thrown into the cell and the door was slammed shut behind him. Elladan got up quickly and helped Elrohir to move the ranger into the corner where they could look at his wounds. The guards had brought water and rags in earlier and the brother's used them to clean Aragorn's wounds as best they could.

Elladan stopped as he saw the receding black tendrils of the morgul poison in one of Aragorn's wounds.

"Elrohir…" his voice caught in his throat for a moment. "What, what happened?"

Elrohir dropped his head. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop him; he didn't like any of my answers… even though they were the truth. He wanted to know who Estel was, why his boss thought he was so important. And I wouldn't tell him. Estel has morgul poison in him. And only Gavin has the antidote." Elladan sighed and held back the tears that threatened to spill down his face. He just hoped Elrond got there in time, or Aragorn wasn't going to make it.


	19. Part 19

PART 19

Elladan and Elrohir watched Aragorn all through the night. They didn't know how long it would take for the poison to take full effect, but they knew they had at least two days before it took full effect.

Unfortunately Aragorn's wounds weren't healing properly, probably due to the poison, and they didn't have any bandages to try and cover his many lacerations.

"He's developing a fever." Elladan said worriedly, feeling Aragorn's forehead. His skin was damp and clammy and Aragorn cried out in pain as he slowly started regaining consciousness.

"Sidh muindor-nin." Elrohir said calmly, pulling his younger brother's head onto his his lap. "_Lasto beth-nin Estel, __pân natha __mae. _Listen to me Estel, it will be all right."

Aragorn sighed once and drifted back into unconsciousness. Elrohir continued to hold him as the ranger's muscles slowly relaxed. Elladan soaked a rag in the still cool water and placed it on Aragorn's row to try and help break the fever.

"Elrohir…" Elladan said cautiously as he checked Aragorn's pulse. "What exactly did you tell Gavin?"

Elrohir looked up and stared at his twin. "What do you mean?"

Elladan sighed. "You know what I mean Elrohir."

"Oh, you mean did I tell them anything important about Estel? Or did I betray you?" Elrohir said, his voice rising in pitch as his anger at Aragorn's condition got the better of him.

"That's not what I mean Elrohir…" he paused for a moment and sighed. "Okay, so I don't mean the last part, but the first part yes."

Elrohir just stared at his twin. "Do you really think that I'm that stupid muindor-nin?" he asked sadly, dropping his gaze back to Aragorn's flushed face. "I wanted to keep him alive, not kill him. And telling them his heritage would surely have killed him… or worse."

Elladan sighed, he had known in his heart that his brother would never give away Estel's heritage but he had wanted to make sure. And now his brother, his twin, felt betrayed and he didn't like it.

"I know you would never betray Estel's secret intentionally Elrohir, but I had to make sure. I had no idea what they did to you after they dragged me back here and you didn't tell me anything when you got back."

Elrohir smiled at his twin, the tension in the room dissipating. "I know, muindor-nin." And with that the brothers sat back in silence, praying that Aragorn's fever would break soon.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elrond sat back against the cave wall and watched Manet who was sleeping on the other side of the fire. The man hadn't told him much and the elf lord was impatient.

As the first rays of sunlight filtered in through the mouth of the cave Elrond finally got up and went over to Manet's sleeping form. He had spent two miserable days listening to Manet's whining, and he had an idea that would surely get more answers out of the man.

"Get up Manet." Elrond said loudly, startling the human out of his sleep.

Manet shifted closer to the fire, or as best he could anyway with his hands and feet tied, as Elrond went back to his packs and got some dried venison out for breakfast.

"You know elf." Manet said as Elrond threw him a strip. "You could be nicer to me seeing as how I got all the answers for you."

Elrond looked up at the human with a look of loathing and forced a smile on his face. "You know, Manet." he said sweetly. "I could always just slit your throat instead of feeding you."

"Yes, but then you wouldn't get any of the answers you need." Manet said, not liking the look on the elf's face.

"Except that I don't _need_ those answers." Elrond said, trying not to laugh as Manet's once smug face turned to a look of horror. "I merely want them, so if you're not going to talk there's really no use for you…"

"Wait!" Manet said, his heart pounding in his chest as Elrond pulled his knife from its sheave on his belt. "Just wait a second, let me get a chance to talk first."

Elrond looked as if he was considering it and nodded. "Fine… but any answers you don't give me will cost you your life, understand?" Manet nodded furiously and Elrond had to stifle a smile at the look of pure horror on the human's face, especially since Elrond had no intention of killing the man.

"Now," Elrond said calmly, leaning back against the cave wall. "Were my sons injured at all when they were with you?" Elrond pulled out his knife again when Manet didn't answer and Manet held up his bound hands in defense.

"Wait a minute there." he said terrified. "The ranger was injured."

"How?"

Manet shifted uncomfortably. "We beat him."

"Why?" Elrond demanded, his anger rising at the way the human was avoiding his questions.

Manet sighed. "We wanted to know who he was and what he relation was to the elf. Only he wouldn't talk and the elf wouldn't talk so we… umm… tortured him." He paused at the furious look on the elf lord's face and continued quickly. "Well actually we didn't _torture_ him per say… we just, kind of, whipped him." He said the last part in barely a whisper and flinched as Elrond began talking, fully expecting the elf to kill him.

"You…_whipped_ him?" Elrond seethed, causing Manet to flinch even more.

"Yes, and then we did it again to get the elf's identity… but that was all! I swear!" he said hurriedly as Elrond stood up. He quickly shushed the human and gagged him before going to the mouth of the cave with his sword drawn. He could have sworn that he had heard someone, or something, at the entrance. But there was no one there.

Elrond sheathed his sword again and went back to figure out what to do with Manet.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elladan started as Aragorn groaned next to him. The ranger's fever had broken during the night and he was breathing easier, but the elf knew that he was going to be in a lot of pain when he regained consciousness and the morgul poison wasn't going to help.

"Elladan? Elrohir?" Aragorn whispered as he slowly regained consciousness. He hissed as pain flooded his senses and he felt someone over him.

"Sidh Estel." Elrohir said quietly in elvish. "_Min_ _sí_we are here."

"What happened?" Aragorn asked as Elladan came into view. "The last thing I remember is you two apologizing and telling me it would be all right."

Elrohir sighed, "We truly are sorry Estel, but Gavin wasn't listening to us and we couldn't let you keep getting beaten…" he paused, wondering how to finish.

"So we spoke elvish so Gavin would knock you unconscious and leave you alone." Elrohir finished quietly, wondering if Aragorn could ever forgive them for the pain he was going through.

"Hannon le muindor-nin." Aragorn said with a smile. "But there is something you are not telling me."

Elrohir looked away for a moment which only confirmed Aragorn's suspicions. "I'm sorry Estel." He said, still not looking at the ranger. "I tried to stop him but…"

"But what?" Aragorn pressed, ignoring the pain that was radiating through his body. "Elrohir… what aren't you telling me?"

Elladan looked at his brother for a moment before answering for his twin. "Estel, Gavin has infected you with morgul poison. He has an antidote, but unless we tell him who you are you are going to die." He said the last part so quietly that Aragorn barely heard it.

"Well we can't tell him!" Aragorn said desperately. "He will surely kill me then!"

"Sidh Estel." Elrohir said soothingly. "We will not tell him anything, but we won't let you die either. Ada will rescue us and you will _not_ die."

Aragorn smiled at his brother and groaned as he pulled himself into a sitting position. Suddenly the door to their cell was thrown open and Aragorn cringed slightly as Gavin walked inside. Elladan and Elrohir immediately moved in front of their younger brother and Gavin smiled at the scene.

"My boss sill requires an answer." Gavin said looking at the trio. "Are you ready to answer or shall I attempt to pry it out of you again?"

Aragorn shuddered involuntarily at the thought but none of them said anything, knowing what was in store for them no matter what they said.

"Fine." Gavin said with a smile. "Bring them all." The guards nodded and went to grab the ranger first, but the twins weren't going to let them touch Aragorn again without a fight. But the guards outnumbered the elves, and they hadn't eaten anything in a couple of days. So they were soon overpowered and dragged out ahead of Aragorn.

They tried to turn around as they heard a stifled cry from behind them, but the guards weren't going to let them do anything except go forward towards their new cell.

The guards tied them back up the walls, just like the day before, and the twins watched as Aragorn was dragged inside and hooked to the wall as well. But they became concerned as they saw Aragorn's split lip and the bruise that was already beginning to form on his right cheek. Gavin walked in after Aragorn was chained up and he surveyed the room for a moment.

"You know," he said walking over to Aragorn who was hanging limply from the wall. "I was going to continue torturing the ranger, but I don't think he'd last very long. And where's the fun in that?

"Besides," Gavin continued, turning away from Aragorn and looking back at the twins with an evil smile on his face. "I want to know what it takes to make an elf scream."

Elladan and Elrohir merely glared at their captive, happy that they wouldn't have to watch Aragorn being tortured again.

Gavin continued to glance between the two elves, like a farmer sizing up two pigs for slaughter. It made them anxious and they felt knots of fear forming in their stomachs, but they didn't let it show on their faces.

"Do you have a preference for who goes first?" Gavin asked sweetly, the evil smile never leaving his face. The twins didn't say anything as Gavin crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited for an answer.

"No one?" he asked as he walked over to stand in front of Elrohir. "Then why don't we finish where we left off yesterday, hmm?" he motioned to the guards standing by the door, not waiting for an answer from the elf. The guards quickly unchained him from the wall and half dragged half pushed him to the stake in the center of the room.

"Not there," Gavin said as the guards began to chain Elrohir to the stake. "Let's try him on the Rack today. That might make him more talkative."

The guards nodded and two of them pulled out a wooden device the brothers had not seen before from a corner. It looked like a giant wooden picture frame with rings at each corner. The guards attached it to two stands that were under a table and set it in the center of the room next to where Elrohir was being restrained. One of the stands was taller than the other which caused one side to be higher than the other. That side was facing away from Elrohir toward the empty far wall.

Elrohir sighed softly. It didn't look all that bad, just a place where he could be whipped without the option of really moving. But the guards weren't finished and Elrohir felt his heart jump into his throat as they pulled out a large board covered with tiny metal spikes that they proceeded to attach to the back of the frame so that the entire back was covered in metal spikes.

Elrohir glanced fearfully back at his twin, hoping that he could give him strength. But Elladan was glaring at Gavin and sending furtive looks at Aragorn who had blacked out again.

Elladan finally felt his twin watching him and he gave him a smile, knowing that it wasn't enough but also knowing that it was the only thing he could do for his brother at the moment.

Elrohir struggled as the guards began to drag him to the Rack. Elladan watched, horrified, as his twin was ruthlessly beaten so he would cooperate. His heart was torn. On the one hand he had no desire to undergo whatever torture Gavin had planned for his brother, but on the other be couldn't stand to be so helpless to save him either.

"Let him go!" Elladan cried out as Elrohir hissed in pain from his contact with the spikes. "Take me instead!" Gavin turned away from the guards, who were finishing hooking the elf in place, and walked over to Elladan.

"Don't waste your time," Gavin whispered, knowing the elf could hear him fine. "I'm not letting him go until he either talks or is unconscious, which ever comes first." And with that Gavin walked back to Elrohir and watched as the last chain was hooked in place, securing the elf the horrible machine.

Elladan refused to listen to Gavin and began to struggle against his chains despite the murderous looks from the guards on either side of him.

Gavin just smiled at the struggling elf, as if that was the exact reaction he wanted, before turning back to Elrohir who was trying to keep himself as high off the spikes as possible.


	20. Part 20

PART 20

"Do you know how this works, elf?" Gavin asked the smile still on his face. "Or shall I explain it to you?" Elrohir didn't answer. All of his attention was focused on staying off the spikes as much as possible, and in truth he didn't really care how the machine worked.

Unfortunately that was not the answer Gavin was looking for. He nodded angrily to one of the guards who smiled cruelly and walked slowly over to Elrohir who was too busy trying to stay off the spikes to notice.

"Elrohir!" Elladan called desperately to his twin. But before Elrohir had time to react the guard punched him in the stomach, causing the elf to expel all of his air and fall back onto the spikes. "Answer the question elf," the guard spat, saying the word "elf" like he thought it was the dirtiest word invented.

Elrohir struggled to regain his breath while trying to get back off the spikes and Elladan felt his heart breaking as he looked at his brother's pain-filled face.

When Elrohir had finally regained his breath and gotten back off the spikes, Gavin walked back over with a rectangular slap of rock in his hand.

"You see this?" Gavin asked holding up the rock. "I'm going to ask you a question, and every time you don't answer me correctly I will place one of these on you until the spikes are completely imbedded in your back. Which is not lethal in itself, but can be if left untreated so you better hope you lose consciousness well before then elf.

"Now," Gavin continued the smile returning to his face. "Let's start out with something easy that we both know is true. What is your full name?"

Elrohir paused for a moment, but if he could avoid the spikes again he would. "Elrohir, son of Elrond," he said softly, ashamed that he had even answered a simple question like that.

"Good," Gavin said still holding the rock. "Now it gets harder. Who is the ranger?"

"He is Estel, adopted son of Elrond, and my younger brother. He is also known as strider, Ranger of the North, a dúnadan." Elrohir said, knowing that Gavin already knew this.

Gavin's eyes shot sparks of anger and he dropped the weight on the elf's stomach, causing Elrohir to struggle to stay off the spikes.

"That's not what I asked!" Gavin shouted. "Who was his father? What was his name?"

"His father… was a… a lowly ranger." Elrohir said his voice shaky as he concentrated on staying off the spikes. "I didn't… know… his true name…. Ada always… thought th-that is wou-would… keep him… s-safer."

"You are lying!" Gavin spat, grabbing another rock from the pile and dropping it on top of the other still on Elrohir's stomach. Unfortunately the pain as now too much and he fell back on the spikes, hissing in pain as they slowly dug deeper and deeper into his back.

"Daro!" Elladan shouted at the look of sheer pain on his brother's face. "_Im sí! Le ú-__erui_ I'm here! You are not alone!" Elrohir smiled slightly through the pain at the soothing sound of the grey-tongue and Gavin nodded to a guard who quickly punched the elf before gagging him.

"Now that we don't have to worry about that hideous language being spoken, let's get back to business," Gavin said nodded at a guard next to Aragorn to bring him over. The guard nodded and the ranger was dragged to the center of the room as he slowly began regaining consciousness.

He looked up in confusion and sadness as he was Elrohir on the machine and Elladan gagged on the far wall, not really knowing what was going on until Gavin stood over him. He cringed inwardly as he saw the rod in Gavin's hand and looked over pleadingly at Elladan as the man walked around behind him.

"This is a nice little contraption," Gavin said lovingly, holding it up so both elves could see it. "I bought it off a slave trader from Harad a few years ago, it really does a wonderful job of loosening one's tongue. Shall we see how well it works on one of the Dúnedain?"

"You said you weren't going to torture him today!" Elrohir cried out angrily as Gavin prepared to bring the rod down across Aragorn's shoulder blades. He looked over at the bleeding elf and laughed.

"I'm not torturing him," he said with a smile. "Torturing is what I do to get information. I'm merely causing him pain in an attempt to torture you into telling me what I want to know."

And with that he brought the rod down across Aragorn's shoulder blades, causing the ranger to cry out at the severity of the abuse. It felt like he was being beaten with a super heated rod the pain was so bad. He still hadn't fully recovered from his last beating either and the new abuse caused spots of light to waver in front of his vision.

Elrohir's heart broke at the sound of his brother crying out in pain yet again and he looked over to Elladan who was trying even harder to break free of his chains.

"Now do you feel like talking elf?" Gavin asked as tears came to Elrohir's eyes. He quickly blinked them away and looked at Gavin who was preparing to hit Aragorn again.

"I've told you everything I know," he said, trying to keep the quiver of sadness out of his voice. "What more do you want?"

"I want the truth!" Gavin screamed as he brought the rod down across Aragorn's shoulder blades again causing Aragorn to cry out even louder than last time the pain was so intense. He could feel consciousness slipping away and he just prayed that he would fall into oblivion before Gavin used the rod again. But it was Gavin's next blow that sent him spiraling into pain-less oblivion yet again.

Elrohir watched his brother slump forward in the guards' hands unconscious as Gavin hit him twice in a row. Both elves were now struggling to get to the ranger so badly that Gavin had to get the guards to help restrain them.

"You know…" Gavin said as Aragorn was tossed in a corner yet again. "Your sweet old father is taking an awfully long time getting here… maybe I should send him some tokens to get him moving." He grabbed a knife off the table next to him and walked over to Aragorn, bending over the ranger and holding the knife near his head.

Before Elrohir could say anything, Gavin cut off a lock of the ranger's hair and smeared one end in the man's blood. He went over to Elrohir next and did the same thing before going over to Elladan. He did the same thing to him as well, except that he took one of his clips and attached it to the other end of the lock.

"There," Gavin said handing the locks over to a waiting guard. "Now let's see how fast your father comes."


	21. Part 21

PART 21

Elrond looked over at the frightened human sitting across from him and sighed. He was really no closer to having a plan to rescue Elrohir and Aragorn and it was making him frustrated.

"Look," Manet said nervously, the gag now out of his mouth. "Why don't you just let me go? I promise I won't reveal this place to anyone and…"

"Be quiet!" Elrond shushed as another noise outside their cave caught his ears. Manet immediately shut up, not wanting to be gagged again, and watched as Elrond moved slowly towards the mouth of the cave.

The elf lord paused just inside the mouth of the cave and quickly drew his sword, listening for the sound he had heard before.

Suddenly Elrond jumped forward and Manet watched as Elrond dragged a young man inside the cave, his sword at his throat. The man was thrown to the floor by the fire and Manet felt a twinge of sorrow at the look of terror on his face.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Elrond asked loudly, his sword pointed at the man's throat.

"I-I'm just a m-messenger," the man stuttered, terrified at being held captive by an elf.

"And what is your message?" Elrond inquired, not lowering his sword. "Speak quickly!"

"It's a m-message for l-lord Elrond, sir," the man said, holding out a brown leather bag.

"Well then you are in luck for I am lord Elrond," Elrond said, sheathing his sword. He took the bag from the messenger before motioning to the man that he could go.

He watched as the young man scrambled to the mouth of the cave and chuckled to himself before turning back to look at the bag. There really wasn't anything extraordinary that the elf lord could see; it looked to be a simple drawstring bag.

"What have you got there elf?" Manet asked, trying to look around the elf with his hands and feet still tied.

"That is none of your business," Elrond said coolly, tucking the bag away for the moment until he could figure out what to do with Manet.

"Fine, fine," Manet said, shrugging as best he could with his hands bound. "But if you want to get rid of me you could let me go too."

"I don't know," Elrond said slowly. "I really can't have you messing up my plans you know, so I might just leave you here." Manet's face paled and Elrond had to use all of his practice as a father and ruler not to burst out laughing at the look of terror on the man's face.

"You wouldn't," Manet said, not sounding sure. Elrond looked at him for a moment, as if contemplating what to do, before answering.

"No," Elrond said slowly. "I wouldn't leave you here without some food and water. But I'm still going to leave you here until I get back with my sons. It's only fair that they decide what to do with you after all you put them through." Manet's face paled even more than it had before and he shook his head slowly.

"Wh-what about w-wild animals?" Manet stuttered, trying to find a reason for the elf to not leave him behind in the cave.

"What about them?" Elrond asked innocently as he began to get ready to leave.

"Well what if one finds me tied up like this?" Manet asked looking at his hands. "They won't hesitate to eat me and I won't be able to defend myself."

"I'll leave you a small dagger when I go," Elrond said, not bothering to look up from the bag he was packing.

"Oh," Manet said slightly surprised at the elf's response.

"Yes. If you need it I'm sure you'll be able to find where I've hidden it," Elrond continued as he laid some venison strips and an extra water flask next to the bound man.

"I hate elves," Manet muttered quietly under his breath as Elrond walked back over to his bags.

"It's not usually a good idea to insult one's captor," Elrond said casually pulling out his sword. "Especially when that person has a very sharp sword that they are not afraid to use."

Manet scooted slowly away and wisely kept his mouth shut, not wanting to have to come in contact with the elf's lethal looking sword. Elrond nodded once, as if satisfied with the sword's condition, and put it away with the rest of his bags.

"Hey, before you go," Manet said quietly, keeping his eyes trained on the elf's sword. "Shouldn't you see what was in that bag? Maybe it's a message from Gavin."

Elrond sent the man a withering glace before heading towards the mouth of the cave. In truth the small bag had nearly slipped his mind, but he knew that Manet was right. He just didn't want the human to see what was inside.

When he was far enough away Elrond pulled out the bag and examined it again. He still didn't see anything unique or telling about the bag, but he knew it could still be important anyway.

He gently opened up the bag and dumped the contents onto the palm of his hand, confusion clouding his face as what looked like bundles of hair fell out. He gently set the bag down on the ground and proceeded to separate the bundles. Two were braided and he immediately recognized the third unbraided one as Aragorn's hair, but the braided ones confused him. They were identical and for a moment Elrond thought they both belonged to Elrohir until a gleam of silver caught his eye on the bottom braid. He gently removed the clip and examined it, sorrow clouding his face as realization hit him.

"Elladan," he whispered, closing his fist around the three bundles of hair. "Why didn't you listen to me ion-nin?"

He sighed as his anger flared up and he ran back into the cave to where Manet was still leaning back against the cave wall. He grabbed the human and lifted him up off his feet, his eyes spitting fire as he glared at the terrified man.

"I believe there's something you forgot to tell me," Elrond said angrily, shoving the bloody hair in Manet's face. "Why am I just now finding out that you gave Gavin all three of my sons?!"

Manet cringed away from the bloody hair and looked at Elrond in confusion. "B-but I thought y-you knew," Manet said slowly. "We found the other elf following us. He's the one we beat up."

Elrond quickly dropped the human to the ground and went over to his bags; grabbing everything he needed. He turned away from the cowering human and headed towards the mouth of the cave, ignoring the shouts of Manet who remained bound by the dying fire.


	22. Part 22

This is just to tide people over until I can right a really long, serious chapter. But I'm really busy at the moment and trying to find the best way to bring in Elrond. So please bear with me and enjoy the ridiculously short chapter:D

PART 22

Elladan moaned as he slowly regained consciousness, not quite remembering what had happened. He looked around at the dank cell and saw Elrohir and Aragorn still unconscious next to him. He slowly shifted into a sitting position, wincing at the pain that even that small amount of movement caused.

He looked over at Aragorn and sighed at the shape his youngest brother was in, although Elrohir didn't look to good either. They were both breathing very heavily and were covered in blood and bruises. But the thing that was bothering Elladan was the fact that he couldn't really remember going unconscious. He remembered watching Aragorn go unconscious and Elrohir finally blacking out, but other than that it was basically a blur.

Elladan looked up as he heard Elrohir moan. He watched as his brother slowly moved himself into a sitting position next to him, trying not noticed the look of pain on his brother's face.

"_Manen ce muindor-nin? _How are you feeling my brother?" Elladan asked quietly so the guards outside their cell couldn't hear.

Elrohir grimaced as he shifted to answer his brother. "_Aníron nen._ I would like some water." Elrohir said, not really answering his brother.

"Elrohir…" Elladan said with a slight smile, still talking in the grey tongue. "That is not what I asked."

Elrohir grimaced. "You sound like Ada." he said in Elvish, lowering his voice.

"Well you look terrible." Elladan said giving Elrohir a slight push. Elrohir grimaced as he righted himself again.

"I'm sorry Elrohir!" Elladan said worried that he had actually caused his brother immense pain. "Are you alright?"

Elrohir laughed at the look on his brother's face and gently calmed him down. "I am fine Elladan, stop worrying so much."

The brothers stopped talking as the door to their cell was unlocked. They watched as Gavin strode into the room, the anger showing clearly on his face.

He stood in front of the twins for a moment before speaking. "You know… all I wanted was a little information. Some revenge if it finally came to that, but now I'm in big trouble with my boss. You see," he continued, his hands clasped behind his back. "My boss knows there is something special about that ranger; he can smell it on him. But I just can't seem to get any answers from you that please him. So we are going to have to work extra hard today."

"You will not touch him!" Elrohir said, wincing as he tried to get in front of Aragorn.

Gavin laughed. "Oh don't worry about him," he said as he walked slowly over to the unconscious form of the ranger. "He'll soon be dead anyway. That poison has been in his system for a couple of days and he's already showing symptoms of Morgul poisoning."

It was true, the brothers could tell that at once. Even in unconsciousness Aragorn was wincing and whimpering slightly. He obviously also had a high fever and seemed to be in a lot of pain.

"He will not die," Elladan said angrily as he glared back at Gavin. "But if he does then you had best hope that Ada never finds you."

"Oh don't worry," Gavin said with a smile that sent shivers down Elrohir's spine. "The ranger doesn't have to die… I have the antidote right here," he pulled out a bottle of clear liquid to show the brothers before sticking it back in a hidden pocket in his tunic. "All you have to do to save your brother is tell me what I want to know. We can even skip the torture today if you tell me. So what is it going to be?"

Elrohir looked at Elladan a moment before answering. "We have told you everything. How can we tell you what you want when it isn't true?" Gavin growled at the elf for a moment before motioning to some guards to grab the three prisoners.

"If that is what you want," Gavin said as the guards roughly dragged them to their feet with Aragorn dangling between two of them. "Then we'll just have to torture all of you to find out."

"You can't!" Elladan cried as they dragged him out of the cell. "Estel is already weak and sick. Torturing him now might actually kill him!"

"Well then you had better decide which is more important to you," Gavin said as he walked out ahead of the guards. "Your secrete or the ranger's life."


	23. Part 23

I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but I've had some medical issues and friend issues and vacation and finals and yeah… so please enjoy this short update and I'll try to write more later!!

PART 23

Elrond sighed as he continued on his way to Gavin's fortress. He clutched the bloody locks of hair tighter in his hand as he adjusted the strap on his bag so it wouldn't fall down.

"Why didn't you listen to me, ion-nin?" Elrond said sadly under his breath. He was really worried about all of his sons, but Elladan especially. He knew that Elladan couldn't have been fully healed when he left Imladris, and, judging by what Manet said, he underwent a massive beating as well.

Elrond shook his head to clear the horrible thoughts that came to his head and picked up his pace. He was hoping to make it to Gavin's fortress by nightfall so he could rescue his sons while everyone's sleeping. Not that he actually had a full plan yet, but he just couldn't concentrate. It had been better before when he had thought that one of his sons was safe from Gavin, but now he didn't know what to think.

He picked up his pace as he neared the top of the hill above Gavin's valley and cautiously crawled to the top. He looked down towards the fortress and scowled at the number of guards parading about outside. It wasn't necessarily the number of guards that bothered him; it was the fact that more guards caused more problems.

Elrond scowled down at the imposing black fortress one last time before retreating to a nearby rock outcropping to wait for night fall.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Put the elves in those shackles," Gavin said angrily as the guards dragged the three brothers into the room. "I want the human chained to the center. We'll start on him first I think."

"You can't do this!" Elrohir cried as he struggled against the guards trying to hold him in place. Aragorn whimpered again, still unconscious, as the guards dragged him to the center of the room.

"I don't think you have any say in the matter elf," Gavin said with a snarl. "Not unless you want to tell me what I want to know."

"But we already told you everything!" Elladan screamed as the guards forced him into the shackles on the wall.

"No you didn't!" Gavin screamed as he slapped Elladan's face, splitting his lip. "My boss is never wrong! And I will not report back to him empty handed." He said the last part in barely a whisper, but Elladan still heard it.

"Who is your boss?" Elladan asked with a growl. Gavin spun around and smiled at the bleeding elf.

"That is none of your concern elf," Gavin said as he motioned to a guard next to Elladan. The guard nodded and punched Elladan, sending his head smashing back against the wall and his vision swimming for a second. He could feel more blood running down his face and he wisely kept silent, waiting for the right moment to try and escape.


	24. Part 24

PART 24

Elrond sighed as the sun slowly set beyond the distant mountains, casting the valley below him into darkness. He watched as the guard changed and then set out towards the imposing black Fortress where his sons were being held captive. He slowed as he approached the side and stuck his head slightly around the corner, dimming his elven glow so the guards wouldn't notices the elf lord. He watched as a lone guard, a man too young for position, paced warily in front of the huge oak doors.

Elrond knew it would be easy to subdue the guard, but after that he didn't know what he was going to do. Walking through the front door was out of the question, yet there weren't any other options that the elf lord could see.

He slipped back around to the side of the fortress and looked to see if there were any other ways in from that side that he had missed earlier. He was about to give up when his sharp elven hearing picked up the sounds of someone screaming close by. He followed the sound to a small air vent set in the wall, barely big enough for Elrond to look through. He hissed in anger at the scene that met his eyes and quickly got up, more determined than ever to find a way in at all costs.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Look…" Elrohir started as Elladan shook his head to try and clear his vision. But the guard next to him quickly punched him in the side of the head before he could finish. Black spots danced in front of his eyes and he closed his eyes against the dizziness it caused.

"No," Gavin said angrily. "I'm done talking about this. I want answers… NOW!" He grabbed Aragorn's hair and jerked him up as he said this, causing the ranger's pain-filled eyes to open up slightly. A soft moan escaped the man's lips and Elladan grimaced as Aragorn's eyes settled on him, not quite seeing the elf in front of him.

Gavin unsheathed a knife at his waist and held it against Aragorn's throat, drawing blood as he slowly scratched the surface. "Maybe I should just kill him instead. It would be much more humane than letting the poison take its toll."

"Don't touch him!" Elrohir screamed before the guard punched him again sending him spiraling towards unconsciousness for a few seconds before the pain began to ebb away.

"I don't think you're in any position to talk, elf," Gavin said menacingly as he shoved the semi-conscious ranger to the floor. "Now, we're going to step it up a little. If you don't tell me what I want to know I will jab this knife in the ranger's leg over and over until you tell me. Understand?"

"You wouldn't dare," Elladan said darkly.

"Oh really?" Gavin said, walking calmly over to the helpless elf. "I've got nothing to lose at this point do I? The ranger's going to die anyways, and then you and your twin shortly after. I might as well have some fun before you die."

Suddenly the door burst open and a guard ran in, breathing heavily. "My lord," he said, coming to a stop and saluting Gavin quickly.

"This had better be important…" Gavin said menacingly, brandishing the knife.

"I'm sorry my lord," the guard said, eyeing the knife warily. "But it seems an intruder in the fortress somewhere, maybe more than one. They knocked out Brelin and came in through the front door." Gavin scowled and motioned to one of the guards standing next to Elrohir.

"Go with him," Gavin said angrily. "Find the intruder, but use caution. If it's who I think it is I want him alive!" The guards nodded and saluted again before quickly exiting the room.

"Now," Gavin continued innocently. "Where were we? Oh yes!" And with that he shoved the knife roughly into Aragorn's leg, dangerously close to the bone. Aragorn cried out sharply in pain, unable to contain the sobs that racked his body through his pain-filled consciousness.

"No!" Elladan and Elrohir cried out in unison as the pain overwhelmed Aragorn again and he collapsed again, barely breathing.

"Do you feel like talking now you stupid elves?" Gavin asked menacingly, "or should I just start on one of you too?"

Elrohir slumped forward. "Why does it matter?" he said quietly in elvish so only Elladan could hear him. "Ada is too late." Elladan sighed, but as he looked at Aragorn he feared that his brother was right.


	25. Part 25

Sorry for the delay… I've been on vacation without internet for two weeks. But it's a long chapter so enjoy!!

PART 25

Elrond slowed as he prepared to round another corner, listening for any signs of the guards that he knew were trying to track him. Hearing nothing he crept down the next hallway, hoping that it would lead him to the dungeons where he knew his sons were being held.

"One would think that locating the dungeons would be easy," Elrond muttered as the corridor ended in a set of stairs that only went up, not the direction he wanted to go.

The elf lord had been trying to locate the dungeons for a while now, but every turn he took only led him to another dead end. He had been hoping that he would be able to hear his sons' screams and have them direct him, horrible as it sounds, but it wasn't working very well and it appeared that Gavin had given up for the moment. He was grateful for that, but it also made his rescue even harder.

Suddenly, a shrill scream pierced the air and Elrond raced stealthily towards the sound, hoping that it would lead him to his captive sons.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Your father is too late it seems," Gavin hissed angrily at the twins. "Which is rather unfortunate for your ranger here. However, I am prepared to spare your lives and try to save him if you cooperate and tell me what I want to know."

Elrohir sighed. "Even if we had something to tell you it wouldn't make a difference. You would still kill us anyway."

Gavin backhanded the elf, sending Elrohir sliding in and out of consciousness again. Normally the abuse would have been fine for the elf to handle, but he had been abused too badly to handle it this time.

"What do you want from us?" Elladan asked, the pain of watching his brothers suffer evident on his face. "Do you want us to tell you a false story to please your boss? How about, Estel was raised by orcs and knows all of their military strategies and fighting skills? Or maybe that he isn't a human at all but an Istari? Would that make you happy?"

"No!" Gavin said, rounding on the elf. "I want the truth! Even I can tell that something is different about this man, but I don't know what!"

"How do you know for certain that something IS different?" Elladan asked seriously. "How do you know that he is not just a normal ranger like we keep telling you?"

"Because no one has ever survived Morgul poisoning this long," Gavin said quietly. "He's still alive, he's still breathing! Why?!"

"You're insane," Elrohir said quietly to the enraged man. Gavin smiled and walked over to the table that held all of his torture devices.

"You think I'm insane, do you?" Gavin said innocently. Neither elf answered, afraid at what the man might do. Gavin laughed at the elves' silence and turned around. "Maybe this will change your mind."

The twins looked warily at the device that Gavin held in his hands. It looked like a metal boot with knobs on the side for tightening it around your leg. Elladan saw Elrohir visibly stiffen in fear next to him.

"I see you recognize my toy, elf," Gavin said to Elrohir. The elf merely nodded, still eyeing the device warily.

"You see," Gavin said, turning to Elladan. "This device is widely used in Harad. I bought off a slave trader who uses it to train unruly slaves. Basically, I stick your leg in here," he pointed to the hole at the top, "and tighten it until it crushes your leg completely. It will be immensely painful." He smiled as he finished the last part and looked from one elf to the other, as if trying to decide which one to use the device on.

"Why don't we use you to demonstrate since you already know about the device?" Gavin said evilly to Elrohir as he motioned to the guards standing next to him. Elrohir's eyes widened in horror at the very idea of the pain he was to endure.

"No!" Elladan cried as Elrohir's foot was roughly shoved into the torture device. "Don't do this Gavin or I swear…"

"You'll what?" Gavin asked with a smile. "You're still in chains and your father isn't anywhere to be found. You're doomed and there's nothing you can do about except tell me what I want to know!"

He tightened the boot so that it was just barely fitting around Elrohir's calf and turned back to the elves. "Now, this is how we're going to do it. Every time you don't answer one of my questions I crank this a little farther until your leg completely shatters. Got it?"

The two elves nodded silently, knowing that they could never give Gavin what he wanted.

"Goheno nin, Elrohir." Elladan said quietly so only his brother could hear. "Forgive me."

"Shut up!" the guard said, catching the last part. He backhanded Elladan across the face, causing spots to dance in front of the elf's eyes.

Gavin smiled. "Now for my first question," he began pacing slowly. "Why is the ranger special?" The elves remained silent, knowing what it would cost Elrohir. Elladan tried to reach out to his brother mentally as his twin hissed in pain, but it was no use. Elladan sighed, they were all doomed.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elrond winced as the screams got more intense. He had recognized a while ago that the screams were coming from Elrohir and the elf lord's heart went out to his elven son as the screams continued unabated. He was frustrated that the rescue was taking so long and worried at what his presence was costing his sons.

_/"This is ridiculous!"/ _Elrond thought in anguish as he came to yet another dead end. _/"It shouldn't be this hard to find the dungeons!"/_

The screams abruptly stopped, and Elrond hoped that it meant that his son had merely passed out. Unfortunately, that also made his task harder than it already was. He continued down another, darker passage toward what looked to be a set of stairs.

Suddenly, his sharp elven hearing picked up the sound of someone approaching and Elrond immediately moved off to the side, hiding himself in a small nook cut into the wall. He peered out of the shadows at the small human who passed by him and he took the opportunity to get directions and jumped out at the man. He grabbed the startled servant around the neck, holding his hunting knife tightly against the man's throat.

"If you want to live you will direct me to my sons," the elf lord hissed quietly in the man's ear, pressing the knife down harder to show that he wasn't kidding. The man tensed under the elf's touch and nodded slightly to show that he would cooperate.

"It's just down this stairwell," the man said quietly, the fear showing in his voice. "They've just been brought back to their cell."

"Show me," Elrond said, pushing the human in front of him. The man nodded and continued down the hallway to the stairwell that Elrond had noticed before. The elf lord warily followed the man down into the bowels of the fortress, hoping that he wasn't too late to save his sons.

XXXXXXXXXX

Elladan closed his eyes and fought back the tears that threatened to spill over. He had been through too much and now he was sure that Aragorn at least was not going to make it. He almost wished that his father wouldn't come because he knew that there was no way the two of them would be able to carry Aragorn and Elrohir out of the fortress while avoiding guards and servants. And if it came to a fight they would stand no chance.

The elf looked over at his two unconscious brothers and sighed miserably. Elrohir's leg was crushed, anybody could see that, and Aragorn was barely alive. Elladan crawled over to his human brother and pulled the man's head onto his lap, hoping to ease his suffering slightly and needing to be near the man. Elladan felt the unnatural heat coming off of the man and felt the erratic pulse beneath his fingers. He hugged the ranger closer and sobbed, it was not supposed to end this way. He couldn't lose the man now, here, in this horrible fortress to the same poison that took his mother. It wasn't fair.

He looked over at Elrohir and was glad to see that his twin was still unconscious, he wouldn't be able to deal with his twin's pain on top of his own emotional pain at the thought of losing Aragorn and his twin.

A sudden noise outside their cell made Elladan look up, he was hoping that the guards were just checking to make sure that their door was locked. But his hopes were dashed as he heard the key turn in the lock. He tightened his grip on the dying human and moved closer to his twin, he wasn't going to let them take them again, not this time. He closed his eyes and shoved his face into the man's hair and waited for the rough assault he knew was coming.

"Elladan?" a soft voice spoke into the dimness of the cell, Elladan stifled another sob. Now they were trying to be cruel to him. Pretending to be kind and torturing him beyond what he could handle. A soft touch on his shoulder made him flinch and he hugged the ranger tighter, moving closer to Elrohir and away from his tormentor.

"_Man carnen achen, ion-nin?_ What happened to you, my son?_" _Elrond whispered in horror as he knelt down in front of his sons. Elladan slowly lifted his head at the sound of the elvish words and started at the sight of his father kneeling before him.

"Ada?" he asked in disbelief. "_Man cerich hi? _What are you doing here?"

Elrond chuckled. "_Ni sí an edraith achen._ I'm here to save you."

"You should not be here," Elladan continued quietly in Elvish, holding Aragorn tighter. "It is too late already and you do not need to die as well."

Elrond sighed. "_Lasto beth nin, ion-nin, __pân natha __mae._ Listen to me, my son, it will be alright." Elrond said with an encouraging smile. "We will escape and save your brothers."

"Aragorn was poisoned with morgul poisoning, Ada," Elladan said with a slight sob. "He is farther gone than Naneth was and you could not save her."

Elrond looked his son straight in the eye, wishing he could remove all of the pain that was there. "I was not as skilled as I am now, ion-nin. I will save him, but first we have to leave. How bad is Elrohir?"

Elladan sighed. "His leg was crushed," he said quietly. "He finally passed out from the pain, but there is no way he'll be able to walk on his own and I would rather he didn't regain consciousness anytime soon." Elrond nodded. This was going to be harder than he thought.


	26. Part 26

Sorry it's been so long... but I had a nano novel to write and then homework and then writer's block... _*trails off into random excuses*..._ Anyway, I hope you enjoy this final chapter!!

Part 26

Elrond sat beside his eldest son and brooded over their current predicament. He had thought long and hard over how to escape but everytime he looked at Elladan he dismissed his plans as too hard for him to bear. He just looked too weak to be of any use to him.

"Elladan," Elrond said quietly in elvish. "Is it possible for you to carry one of your brothers?" He had been afraid to ask before, afraid to put too much pressure on his son, but he had no other choice at the moment.

Elladan looked at his father for a moment, trying to gauge his strength at that moment. "I'm not sure," he said slowly looking at both of his brothers. "I'll try though."

Elrond smiled. He nodded as his son stood up, shaky after not being able to stand on his own for so long. He looked at his twin and Aragorn in turn, trying to figure out who was lightest. He quickly grasped Aragorn's arm, wincing slightly as the ranger moaned softly, and hoisted him up on his shoulder. He stumbled slightly before straightening up and looking at his father.

"I can carry Estel," he said, laying the ranger back down gently. "But I won't be able to carry them both, not in my state." He seemed almost disgusted by his weakened state, but Elrond merely sighed and stood up next to his son.

"Do not worry about it, _ion-nin_," he said softly, looking into his eyes. "I did not expect you to be able to, but we have no time to lose. If we are going to save your brothers we have to leave now." Elladan nodded once before grabbing Aragorn again and following his father out the door.

XXXXXXXXXX

The elves quietly snuck down the hallway, making sure to watch for the guards they both knew were out looking for Elrond. The elf lord looked back at his eldest son and sighed mentally as he watched Elladan wince slightly at the extra weight of his human brother. Normally that would have been no problem for Elladan, but after not eating or drinking for days his strength was severely depleated.

Elrond sighed again and continued down the hallway, trying to keep his senses alert for any sound of the guards. He couldn't understand why they hadn't run into any yet. Elladan had told him that Gavin knew he was there, so where were all the guards?

He smiled slightly as he rounded another corner and saw the main door straight in front of them. The stopped suddenly however as a new thought occurred to him. Elladan stopped behind him and put his hand on his shoulder, a questioning look on his face.

"What is it Ada?" he asked softly, looking around to see what had made his father stop.

"It's too easy," he said quietly, looking around for a trap. "Gavin knows I'm here and yet he doesn't have guards guarding the door? And we didn't see a single person on our way here… why?"

Elladan nodded, realizing what his father was saying. "Do you think it is a trap?" he asked, motioning towards the door.

"I do," he said, trying to think of another means of escape. "But I don't know of another escape route." Elladan sighed, neither did he.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gavin paced his study, furious that his guards still hadn't found the elf lord. He looked up quickly as a servant entered the room, panting from having run all the way. Gavin stopped quickly; fear quickly replacing his fury as he recognized the black garb the servant wore. He nodded to the servant to come forward and nodded once as the servant bowed low.

"My master would like to see you in his study," he said. His tone gave away his station with his master and he spoke to Gavin as if he were an underling. Gavin resented his for it.

"I will be right up as soon as I find the intruder," he said, trying to prolong the pain he knew was coming.

"No," the servant said, stepping back from the desk. "My master wants you immediately." Gavin swallowed the lump in his throat at these words but nodded wordlessly before following the man out of the room to a set of stairs hidden from prying eyes.

Gavin began to climb the stairs, noticing how the servant stayed behind him. He paused for a second to regain his breath before quickly ascending the stairs to spacious room above. It had once been a library with walls of books spanning the entire room, but now it was dark and the stench of evil hung everywhere.

"Ah, so glad you could join us," a voice said menacingly from a dark corner. Gavin jumped slightly at the sound, but made no other noise as he bowed towards the voice.

"My Lord," he said slowly. "I was just attempting to…"

"Silence!" the voice said from behind him. "You have failed me, Gavin."

"No! No, I was just…" he began, the fear evident on his face.

"Yes," the voice said from his right side. "You have failed to get the information that I want. I let you go along with your little revenge scheme, and yet you have failed to find out the ranger's secret. For that you must die."

"No!" Gavin said, flinging himself down onto the floor helplessly. "Please, my Lord… just one more chance! I can…" But he never finished as a sword flashed out of the darkness and cut off his head, silencing him before he had a chance to react. The servant watched from the opposite corner, laughing to himself as he saw Gavin's headless corpse slump slowly to the ground.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Ada," Elladan said quietly after a few moments. "I'm not sure we have a choice. There is no other way out of the castle, if we make a run for it…" He didn't have to finish his sentence. Elrond already knew what he was going to say and he also knew they had no choice.

"Alright," he said quietly, glancing around for any signs of a trap. "On my signal we run as fast as we can towards the doors and keep running until we are out of the valley."

Elladan nodded slowly before Elrond gave a nod and they sprinted towards the doors, not caring if anyone saw them anymore. Elrond was the first to reach them and he burst through them quickly, Elladan following right behind them. They heard one long cry of anger from above them, but that was all as they ran through the valley and out of sight.

XXXXXXXXXX

Aragorn moaned softly he began to regain consciousness. He kept his eyes closed and noticed that there was light on the other side of them. He frowned, knowing there was no light in their cell, and thought for a brief moment that he had died. He opened his eyes slowly and was surprised to see both Elladan and Elrohir lying next to him. He frowned as he tried to remember what had happened when he noticed the giant splint on Elrohir's leg.

"Wha…?" he began, sitting up quickly. Elladan cut him off however as he grabbed him in a tight embrace, knocking all of the air out of his lungs.

"Elladan!" Elrohir said as Aragorn's face began to turn blue. "You're smothering him, let him go already." Elladan grinned sheepishly before letting go of his younger brother who gasped for air.

Once Aragorn had regained his breath he took a moment to look at his surroundings and realized he was in his own room. "How did I get here?" he asked slowly. "And how did you hurt your leg?"

The twins just looked at each other and grimaced as they began to tell Aragorn all about their adventures after he passed out, ending by telling him about Elrond's rescue and subsequent healing of the ranger. Aragorn sighed with anguish at his brothers' torture before Elrond walked in with a smile and a cup of tea.

"You two need to leave your brother alone," Elrond said with a disapproving look. "He has just barely survived Morgul poisoning and needs to sleep. Now go." The twins smiled at each other before getting off the bed where Elladan grabbed a set of crutches for his twin before helping him out of the room.

Aragorn smiled at the elf lord and took the cup of tea gratefully before draining the entire cup. He smiled at his father before sleep began to take hold of him again.

_//"It's good to be home,"//_ he thought with a sigh as he drifted off to sleep again.


End file.
